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Studies in Jainology. Prakrit
135.
10 their laity that they used to educate them. Each Ācārya had his own interesting and effective method in this regard. Moreover, as the Jaina Acarya wandered about according to the dictum cited above, he kept on imparting religious education to his monk-pupils, who, with previous permission had accepted him as his teacher. Such instruction was given punctually and systematically in the manner of the mother-bird tenderly and punctually seeding its young one:
"Jahā se diya-poya cvan te sissā diyā ya rão ya anupuvvena vaiya.” (Ayāra, 1-6-3, Calcutta, ed.1967)
Such monk-pupil after initiation, used to be with his teacher for 12 years and during this period he could almost have the entire scriptural knowledge. Then, the young monk, with his teacher's permission, uscd to go on wandering independently and according to the rules of the Sangha. Scholars opine that such system was in vogue from 500 B.C. 10 100 A.D.
Then, during the first half of the 1st century A.D., there began to appear here and there caityas or basadis introduced and maintained by the lay community; and according to Dr.J.P.Jain, from the 3rd century A.D., the Jaina monks began to stay in such caityas and during the period between the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., there distinctly appeared two categories viz., Vanavasi and Caityavasí among them. Later on, gradually, the Caityavasi monks began to teach the children of thc laity also in addition to their own monk-pupils who lived along with them. That new course of instruction could have been : exposition of the Anuvralas, Sikşāvratas and Gunavratas, bad effects of Saptavyasana, exemplification of Punya and Papa, elucidation of the path leading to liberation etc. The Caityavasi monks, as ycars passed on, may have also commenced to impart general education of the primary stage to the children of the round-about laily. Later, some members of the lay community also may have started Primary Schools or Pathasalās. It is reasonably presumed that such primary education commenced with a salutary
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