# Vedic Learning

Vedic Education is the tradition of oral transmission of the Vedic body of knowledge and texts and auxiliary traditions, as preserved in the Vedas and Vedanga.

## Vedas and vedanga

The Vedas, liturgical hymns of the Vedic people, were composed between in the early Vedic period (ca. 1500-900 BCE) by the Vedic people, and expanded with a vast corpus of explanatory and philosophical texts inthe late Vedic period (900-500 BCE). Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines of Vedic studies, namely phonetics, meter, grammar, etymology, ritual instructiins, and astrology.

## Aims of education

Its main aim was all-round development of the human lives. It included the physical, mental and spiritual development of human life. It also included worldly aspect of the life. It focused on self-reliance, self-control, formation of character, individual development, knowledge of social and civil life and preservation of national culture. In the Indian Philosophy, Brahman denotes the highest universal principle of the ultimate reality in the universe. According to Indian philosophy, Brahman is the immaterial, efficient, skillful and final cause of all phenomena. After the later Vedic period, the Upanishads were developed more on the basis of the concept of Atman and Brahman as revealed by the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. The Upanishads are considered as the last part of the Vedas and also known as Vedanta School of the Ancient Indian Philosophy. In the Indian Philosophy, Atman is the identification of the self which is the pure consciousness and Brahman is the universal self of the universe and the ultimate reality of the universe. The ultimate goal of the Brahmanical System of Education was to understand the concept Atman and Brahman.

## Curriculum

The curriculum of the educational system was focused to learn Vedic mantras, knowledge of religious rituals like ‘Karamkanda’ ‘Havan’ and ‘Yajna’. The course of study was much more vast than of Vedic period. It included all the four branches of 'Vedas' and the study of Itihas, Puranas, Vyakaran, Arithmetic, Shradha-kalp, Astrology, Ethics, Demonology, Yajur Veda, Nyaya Shastra, Smriti, Jyotish, Astronomy, Mathematics, Indian Philosophy, Surgery, Medicine, Literatures, Warfare, Archery, Snake-charming etc.

## Principles of education

In the Brahmanical System, education was free. There was a tradition of giving Gurudakshina to Acharya by his student who completed the study course of education. It was also not mandatory that Gurudakshina would be physical wealth, but it can be in any form. The education of a student started from Upanayana ritual. It was performed between four and nine years of age. After it, the student was sent to Gurukula for the study. In the upanayana an Acharya was assigned to the student. The Acharya took care of his students like father and impart proper education, training and guidance to them. The students had to study in the Gurukula for minimum of 12 years. There was regulated daily routine for students in the Gurukula. The motto before them was simple living and high thinking. A sense of discipline grew up among the disciples. The daily routine consisted of bathing, Yajna, Poojan, Bhiksha (going out for alms), serving the Guru ( teacher ), reading Vedas, etc. According to Atharvaveda proper rearing, education and suitable environment can bring everything to the students. Therefore in the Brahmanical education, building of character was given much attention. After upanayana ritual, the students were supposed to maintain strict celibacy. The strict celibacy was helpful in controlling of the senses and the mind. This led to the proper development of the personality of the students. The principles of education was not only theoretical but was also practical. The educational system was based on psychological principles so corporal punishment was considered as sin. Therefore, there was no corporal punishment in the educational system. In the Brahmanical system students were free to choose their specialisations according to their abilities. Karma-siddhanta and stratification of caste system had no effect on the courses of study in Brahmanical education.

## System of Gurukul

In Brahmanical tradition, Gurukul was developed around the family of a single teacher called as Acharya. According to R K Mukherjee, the tradition was dependent on the system of individual schools and ideal succession of the teachers and disciples. The disciples admitted in the Gurukul had to leave their old names and paternity recognitions for education purpose. The disciples were given new names and recognitions according to the lineage of the Gurukul. Some major examples of the Gurukul were Yajnavalkya Ashram, Kapil Ashram, Gautam Ashram, Pundrik Ashram, Shaunaka Mahashala Vishwamitra Ashram, Shandilya Ashram, Vyasa Peetha ,etc.

## Major important centres

Major important centres of Vedic learning were Taxila, Sharada Peeth, Kashi, Mithila and Nabadwip, and a number of centres in South India.