Education Systems and Practices: A Survey

About this unit

This unit looks at how knowledge was taught and learnt in India over many centuries. It discusses the aims of education in Indian thought, the relationship between teacher and student, and the institutions where learning took place — homes of teachers (gurukulas), temples, Buddhist viharas, large monastic universities such as Nalanda, and village schools. It also uses primary sources, including Upanishadic passages and the account of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, and records from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Key ideas

• Education aimed at knowledge, character and liberation, not only livelihood.
• Para vidya (higher knowledge) and apara vidya (lower or worldly knowledge).
• Guru-shishya parampara: learning through close personal contact.
• Centres: gurukulas, ghatikas, mathas, viharas, Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila.
• Records by travellers and colonial surveys describe a wide network of indigenous schools.

How to prepare

• Memorise key Sanskrit terms and quotations and their meanings.
• Learn institutions with region and patrons.
• Expect passage-based and matching questions.