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We have little information on education in ancient India. The Indus River Valley civilization is the least known of the great river valley civilizations. There presumably were schools. Whenever you have a written language, there has to be some kind of school. We know more about subsequent civilizations on the sub-continent in ancient times. Schooling appears to have largely developed around religious institutions. Our earliest information comes from the Vedic era (1500-600 BC). Teaching was based on the Vedas. This was a body of religious texts with ancient origins.
They were composed in Sanskrit and are both the oldest Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu texts. The Vedas involved hymns, formulas, and incantations which were recited or chanted by priests and the students had to memorize. This was a pre-Hindu tradition to which Hindu texts and scriptures were gradually added. There is reason to believe that Vedic education was at one point more common than in most ancient civilizations, but became more restricted as the caste system developed. One author describes monastic orders of education under the supervision of a guru rather than any kind of state education. [Blackwell, p. 90.] This appears to be how the elite educated their children. This seems to be closely tied into the developing Hindu religion. These monastic orders seems to have specialized in specialized education depending on the skills needed by different groups which tended to pursue inherited roles. [Prabhu, p. 24.] The gurus for the priestly (Brahmin) class focused on religion, philosophy, and related subjects. The warrior (Kshatriya) were trained in the martial arts and others aspects of warfare. The business (Vaishya) class were taught their trade and presumably i many cases mathematics. The vast peasant class were not educated. Buddhism appeared in India (6th century BC). Secular Buddhist institutions developed as offshoots of the monasteries. These institutions tended to focus on piratical or applied learning such as medicine. [Prabhu, 249.] Some urban learning centers developed (4th-2nd century BC). This included Taxila (in modern Pakistan) and Nalanda. Some were so important that they attracted foreign students. Subjects like Buddhist literature, logic, mathematics, and grammar were taught.
We have little information on education in ancient India. The Indus River Valley civilization is the least known of the great river valley civilizations. There presumably were schools. Whenever you have a written language, there has to e some kind of school.
We know more about subsequent civilizations on the sub-continent in ancient times. Schooling appears to have largely developed around religious institutions. Our earliest information comes from the Vedic era (1500-600 BC). Teaching was based on the Vedas. This was a body of religious texts with ancient origins. They were composed in Sanskrit and are both the oldest Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu texts. The Vedas involved hymns, formulas, and incantations which were recited or chanted by priests and the students had to memorize. This was a pre-Hindu tradition to which Hindu texts and scriptures were gradually added. There is reason to believe that Vedic education was at one point more common than in most ancient civilizations, but became more restricted as the caste system developed. One author describes monastic orders of education under the supervision of a guru rather than any kind of state education. [Blackwell, p. 90.] This appears to be how the nobility educated their children. The education offered seems to be closely tied into the developing Hindu religion. These monastic orders seems to have specialized in specialized education depending on the skills needed by different caste groups which tended to pursue inherited roles. [Prabhu, p. 24.] The gurus for the priestly (Brahmin) class focused on religion, philosophy, and related subjects. The warrior (Kshatriya) were trained in the martial arts and others aspects of warfare. The business (Vaishya) class were taught their trade and presumably in many cases mathematics. The vast peasant class was not educated.
Buddhism appeared in India (6th century BC). We do not have much information on the teaching of children. Sammanas and Brahmin gurus historically informlly offered education in ecchsnge for dontions. Stupas and temples also became centers of education. Religion was the focus, but a range of secular subjects were also taught. The students had to be brahmacaris (an age-based Budduist stage) or celibates. Instruction was focused on tasks each hu=igher order had to perform. The priestly class (Sammanas) were taught religion, philosophy, and other relkated disciplines. The warrior class (Kshatriya) were trained in military skills. The business class (Vaishya) were taught their trade and mathematics as needed. The peasantry (Shudras) were generally not educated. Secular Buddhist institutions developed as offshoots of the monasteries. These institutions tended to focus on practical or applied learning such as medicine. [Prabhu, 249.] Some urban learning centers developed (4th-2nd century BC). This included Taxila (in modern Pakistan) and Nalanda. Some were so important that they attracted foreign students. Secular institutions cropped up along Buddhist monasteries. Subjects like Buddhist literature, logic, mathematics, and grammar were taught. These institutions while initially concerned ficusd on religion gradually began addressing practical matters such as medicine. Urban learning centres became increasingly notable (500 BC to 400 AD). The most important urban leaning centers included Nalanda (in modern-day Bihar) and Manassa in Nagpur. These institutions developed systematically learning programs. They attracted students from all over India. Subjects included Buddhist Páli literature, logic, páli grammar, etc. Chanakya, a Brahmin teacher, became famous. He was involved in the founding of the Mauryan Empire.
Blackwell, Fritz. India: A Global Studies Handbook (ABC-CLIO, 2004).
Prabhu, Joseph. "Educational Institutions and Philosophies, Traditional and Modern", Encyclopedia of India Vol. 2 (Thomson Gale: 2006).
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