________________ 57 The Heritage of Vaisali that in this short time before me, I will not venture to go into many details of this important subject. But I must tell you something about a few obvious points (a) The Vaisalian and Videhan tradition, whether Jaina or Bauddha of the millennium after 600 B. C., or Epic and Vedic of the millennium before 600 B. C., reflects a high regard for women, their education and accomplishments, their strong individuality and great freedom of movement, thought and action, their innate worth which cannot be clouded by evil forces of society, and their co-operation with men on equal terms in all social and religious works. Whether as artists skilled in all the fine arts, or as scholar, philosopher and theologian, or as 'wife, 'mother and mistress of the household, or as social worker, ordained Nun or Saint, the Vaisalini or the Vaidebi tady, of the cities and the courts, or of the rural farms and the asramas', -was a remarkable type in ancient India: The revival of Vaisali should mean in effect the regeneration of the women of this region; those varied and worthy types of women, unfolding the manifold nature of womanhood, should reappear in this prison-house of women, through the activities of this Vaisali Sangha, to gladden, sweeten, enlighten and purify the homes and society of this country. (b) You have all heard of the Universities of Nalanda and Vikramasila,--but it is only gradually that even research scholars of our country are realising that Vaisali was another such renowned monasteric university centre, with a number of Maha-vibaras dating from the days of Gautama-Buddha, Kalasoka-Saisunaga, Vindusara and Asoka; and you are aware that one of the General Buddhist Conventions was held here, while the Buddha often discoursed in the Kutagara Hall within the Mahavana Park of Vaisali, Mahavira generally spent his rainsretreat in this city at the Dvi-Palasa Chaitya of Kollaga; and long before that, it was in Vaisali, the capital of the three great successive emperors, Maruta, Dusyanta and Bharata, that the famous Vaidika Rsis, Utathya, Saivartta Dirghatamas, Bphaspati and Bharadvaja, had their casramas,' and the royai Rsis Nabhaga, Bhalandada and Vatsa-pri composed Kgvedic hymns.--Now, if we are to revive this three-fold Vaigalian tradition of learning and Scholarship, we have to build up a new kind of University in this locality or region, wherein the special studies associated with what are commonly called Vedic, Jaina and Buddhistic cultures, would be combined to form, like the sacred Ganga, a triple stream in one channel, branching out into a hundred fresh streams, to revive, restore and purify the long-forgotten ashes of our great ancestors. The ancient people of Vaisali-Videha had shown how they could exercise 8
