Jaina System of Education

Author(s): Debendra Chandra Das Gupta
Publisher: Bharti Mahavidyalaya

Page 78

64
JAINA SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
Thus infancy and chuldhool ycrc possed in the company of the cducated and shilful nurses amidst physical and motor acuvities and appropriate arrangements werc made for organized games and informal cducation under their carc and toys of discrse kinds 11 CTC provided them to play with Group acutilics cre encouraged where sociability and national inanncrs and cuiquçitc and mother tonguic were taught to them by murse Thus to use Conichius icon in thc School of infancy the children Icarn in an infornal way from thicir nurse-thc upamata use ful information quite appropriatc to their physical and mental growth In the fifth stagc (schha bhuni) at the scienth birthday or cighth year froin conception young boys 11 cte handed over to the teacher of Arts whereas the Brahmın boys join the Vedic school after the initiation cerchions They may los cicr postpone the upanajana ceremony upco the sixtccntlı ycar from conccption and in this case they shall have no choice other than joining the art school From birth to the childs first entry into school parcnts perform scries of ceremonies In this particular instance lic may cite the example of Lord Goyama a prinac of the house of Baravai and the ceremonics performed by his parents from lus birth to his first entry into art school were as follows So the father and mother of litulc Goyama in clue order performed the sites of the birth-day festival the sight of moon and sun the vigul the same giving the walking and moving thc legs the fcasting the increase of food the teaching to speak the boring of the cars the cleaning the ar the dressing of the hair the taking to school and many other rites from conception to birth 10
Physical emotional and mental growth are gradual and not sudden There is a slow process of evolution Like the modern pujchologist the Jaina father recorded the tendency of the young boy's to imitate adult occupations It is a psychological fact with all the young boys and girls during the sekha-stage which begins at the age of seven to dramatise adult occupations Thus Hemacandra in his Sthaviravalicarita describes how Chandragupta the founder of the Murya empire in his boyhood daily played the role of king with his co-villagers He used to ride upon the boys when they played thu role of clephants and horses This is indicative of Chandragupta s
10
The Antagadadasdo And Anuttarovaványa-dasło p 19