Kesarimalji Surana Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Nathmal Tatia, Dev Kothari
Publisher: Kesarimalji Surana Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 1260

A short sketch of Early Education, Art and Iconography under Jainism
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teaching and maintenance or boarding and lodging of 10,000 students. These Aśrama Universities may be compared to the residential universities of our days. It goes without saying that these huge establishments or institutions were equipped with regular libraries, not of printed materials but of manuscripts of different varieties and on different subjects for the use of students and teachers. Such libraries or storehouses of knowledge were undoubtedly properly looked after and were preserved in the best possible manner. These were the storehouses of culture and learning, for in those days the teachers and taughts had to depend on these invaluable records in case of any difference of opinion amongst themselves. Teachers who could recite the entire Sütras of manuscripts without any offort were in fact "walking libraries and were known as Śrutadharas. In those ancient days the temples and moasteries played a great part in the life of the people of our country. The social, cultural and educational life in India centered round such centres and ancient temples.
Religious discourses, philosophical discussions and pravacanas all centered round such congregations. The auditorium or Nata-mandapam or natamandirar attached to the ancient temples testify to this system. These and similar institutions were the vehicles of culture and education for the community which influenced and moulded the character of the common man first and foremost.
Many of our ancient seats of learning or Universities had excellent collections of handproduced books i. e., the manuscript library, where renowned foreign scholars came to acquire the light of the East. Indeed, the indigenous Indian culture, philosophy and religion had in those days occupied place of pride throughout the world and the neighbouring countries were all under the cultural spell of the splendour and civilisation that was Bharavtarsa or llāvantavarşa. Scholars and travellers from far and near came to these seats of culture and learning (the universities of those days) and sat at the feet of the teachers who enjoyed international fame. They also copied the various śāstras embodying philosophical, religious and allied discourses both Brhmanical, Jaina and Buddhist and carried home treasures of ancient lore from this country. The long stay of these foreign scholars and visitors or travellers gave them an insight into the characters of the people with whom they lived and moved. It is from the writings of these foreigners that we are able to glean a clear-cut picture of those institutions now lost into oblivion.
The Rkveda, the earliest literature of the East, has references to Sanghas or assemblies of learned men meeting for fateful and formative discussions which hammered into shape both the language and philosophy of the Vedas. The Upanisads also make mention of regular learned conferences, meetings at courts of kings by royal invitations and companies of charaks' and wandering scholars touring the country in quest of higher knowledge flocked to such centres to participate. There were also stabilized institutions--the academies like "Pañcala Parisad" which produced some of India's higher philosophies, later came Jainism and Buddhism with their emphasis upon the system of organised brotherhoods accommodated in the rock-cut halls Vihäras or monasteries. The Brahmanical system also followed suit with similar institutions like Mathas and regular colleges as we know them. Instances of college endowed by charities in the temples are very common in the south and there are copious references to these inscriptions. There were also endowments for higher learning and research which sought to entire learned settlements or cultural colonies made up of households of pious and scholarly Brahmins and saints in select areas. There are epigraphical records in support of such foundations in the