the modernization of sanskrit education

8/12/2019 The Modernization of Sanskrit Education

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Occas ional Paper No. 160

T H E M O D E R N I Z A T I O N O F S A N S K R I TE D U C A T I O N

N I T A K U M A R

CENTRE FOR STUDIES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES,CALCUTTA


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The modernizat ion of Sanskri teducat ion

T he re a r e ma ny wa ys to und e r s t an d the ro l e o f Sans k r i teduca t ion in the 19 th cen tu ry and the changes i t unde rwen tf ro m the m idd le o f tha t cen tu ry onw ards . The d i s cus s ion inth i s pa pe r s hou ld be t aken a s one p r e f e r r e d ap p roac htow ard s i t. Sans k r i t t each in g he r e i s t aken a s a s y s t em tha ta s c r ibed a na tu r a l r o l e o f s pec ia l , s upe r io r s anc t i ty to theteache r , wi th a hos t o f r i t ua l s , s ymbo l s , and ideas to s uppo r tth i s s ac r ednes s . A s epa ra t ion o f the s y s t em as " po l i t i ca l " and" cu l tu r a l " i s no t des i r ab le , becaus e the va lues i t p ropaga tedw e r e e f f e c t i v e i n m a i n t a i n i n g a h i e r a r c h y p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s ethey were s ha r ed common-s ens ica l ly ac ro s s ce r t a in c l a s s es .I n t ak ing ove r and adap t ing th i s s y s t em, the co lon ia lg o v e r n m e n t d i s p e n s e d w i th t h e s e p r a c t i c e s a n d r e p l a c e dma ny o f the c ruc ia l me an in gs wi th i t s ow n . Sans k r i tedu ca t ion ' en ded ' a s a s y s t em be cau s e o f l a rge r s oc ia l ande c o n o m i c c h a n g e s , o f c o u r s e , a s a g e n e r a l p r e c o n d i t i o n , b u tm o r e p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e th e v e r y n a t u r a l n e s s t h a t h a d c o m eto cha rac te r i s e i t wa s no t de f end ed by i t s p r ac t i t i on e r s wh operhaps be l i eved tha t s ome th ing ' n a tu r a l ' wou ld na tu r a l ly l a s tf o r e v e r .

T h i s a p p r o a c h h i g h l i g h ts s o m e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l p o i n t swh ich m ak es the cas e o f Sans k r i t educa t ion o f wide rin t e r e s t F i r s t , p r eco lon ia l be l i e f s y s t e ms , r ega rd in g s oc ia lh i e r a r ch ie s f o r in s t ance , were no more na tu r a l t han co lon ia l


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ones . Th e in t e rven t ion an d dom ina t ion by the s t a t e ce r t a in lyex ten ded the r ange o f con t ro l i n to ne w , l et u s s ay , cap i l l a r i e so f con t ro l . B u t the s t a t e , p r eco lon ia l , co lon ia l , o rpos tco lo n ia l , h as no mo no po ly on the exe rc i s e o f power .Th e s t a t e 's d i s cou r s e , once i t b e ca me the no rm a t i ve one ,mus t no t be ana ly t i ca l ly p r iv i l eged by u s above tha t o fm a r g i n a l i s e d a n d d o m i n a t e d d i s c o u r s e s . B u t a p a r t f r o mrep res en t ing the l a t t e r a s a s s e r t ing the i r own ideo log ie s inp ro te s t o r s e l f -de f in i t ion , w e mus t r ead thes e r e s i s t an t o rs u b v e r s i v e i d e o l o g i e s a l s o a s p o w e r - c o n s t r u c t i o n s . F o reve ry " cu l tu r a l s y s t em" , no ma t t e r how s upe r s eded o rde fea ted in h i s to ry , i s a l s o a s y s t em o f c l a s s i f i ca t ion , o fca tego r i s a t ion , o f power .

Second , an ana ly s i s o f p roces s o r change mus tp r o b l e m a t i s e t h e q u e s t i o n o f d o m i n a t i n g - d o m i n a t e d ,n o r m a t i v e - s u b v e r s i v e , a n d c o n t r o l - p r o t e s t m o r e t h a n h a sb e e n d o n e . T h e t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f S a n s k r i t e d u c a t i o ns how s u s tha t t he ve ry s a m e p roce du r e o f S ans k r i tg u r u - s h i s h y a t e a c h i n g w h i c h w a s d o m i n a t i n g a n d n o r m a t i v eand exc lu s ive a t one t im e ( app rox ima te ly un t i l t he1 8 5 0 s - 6 0 s) , c a m e t o b e d o m i n a t e d , s u b v e r s i v e , a n d e x c l u d e da t a l a t e r t ime (186 0s -7 0s onw ard s ) . Th e re i s no w ay to f i tt hes e d i cho tom ous r e l a t ions o f con t ro l t o the p roc es s o fcon t ro l once and fo r a l l . A t the s am e t ime , the po s s ib l eva r i a t ions in an unde r s t and ing o f ' r e s i s t ance ' s hou ld bee m p h a s i s e d . G i v e n a c o l o n i a l , n o r m a t i v e m o d e l o f w h a tco r r ec t educa t ion cons i s t s o f , wou ld r e s i s t ance l i e in 1)r e j ec t ing it and s t i ck ing to an o ld , co nd em ne d m od e l? ( l i)r e j ec t in g i t bu t d i s cove r ing one ' s ow n rou te f r om a va r i e tyo f p r ag ma t i c and idea l i s t i c con s ide r a t ion s ? ( i i i) acc ep t in g ita s a ma t t e r o f conve n ienc e , bu t r e in t e rp r e t ing i t si l en t ly to

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br ing a n a l t e ra t ion in i t s me a n ings c lose r to one ' s p re fe r re dva lue s?

T hi rd , no ma t te r who the sub je c t s o f our s to ry , o r theobjec ts of our ana lys is , a s imila r bas ic respec t has to be pa idto thent in the wri t i ng of ou r narra t ives . Tha t is , wh ethe ru n d e r v a l u e d l o w e r c a s t e f e m a l e s o r o v er v a l u e d B r a h m a nmales , whether the i l l i te ra te and despised, or the divine lyle a rne d a nd ins igh t fu l , our sub je c t s s t i l l r e ma in a g roup o fpe op le he te roge ne ous , a b le to e xe rc i se a ge nc y a nda u tonomy, r a t iona l by the i r own l igh t s , r e f le x ive , a ndprob a by g ros s ly un de r -a r t i c u la te d in the h i s to ric a l m a te r ia l sa c c e s s ib le to us . W e c o me to the i ron ic but log ic a l pos i t ionof s t r iv ing to r e c ove r the vo ic e s o f those who ha d inh igh -pr inc ip l ed thor ou gh ne s s be e n ve ry e f fe c t ive in s i l e nc ingthe vo ic e s o f o the r s . T h e fe m in is t s c ho la r in us wor r ie sa bou t the se l a s t , bu t the ve ry a pproa c h o f f e min is ts c ho la r sh ip l e a ds us to th i s c ompl ic a te d ide o log ic a l pur su i t .T h e n a t u r a l n e s s o f S a n s k r i t e d u c a t i o n

By the midd le o f the 18 th c e n tu ry , Ba na ra s c i ty wa s no te dpa r t i c u la r ly fo r i t s we a l th a nd pa t ron a ge . A t the ba se o f i t sg r o w i n g i m p o r t a n c e w e r e e c o n o m i c f a c t o r s . N o t o n l y d i d i thave some of the most fe r t i le land in India in a l luvia l t rac tsa long the Ga nge s , i t wa s s i tua te d on wha t be c a me the s ing les a f e h i g h w a y f o r m o n e y a n d g o o d s p a s s i n g f r o m B e n g a l a n d

;Bih a r to De lh i . In the 18 th c e n tu ry the se roa ds w e s tw a rd' f r o m P a t n a , M u r s h i d a b a d , a n d H u g h l i b e c a m e s p e c i a l l y

impor ta n t , a nd " the e c onomic a nd po l i t i c a l impor ta nc e o f thegre a t t r a de r -ba nke rs wa s e nha nc e d in the pe r iod . " 1 T h i sproc e s s , s t r e ng the ne d by the ro le o f pa t ron p la ye d by the

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ne w Kas h i R a ja s , con t inu ed in to the 19 th cen tu ry .E igh teen th cen tu ry po l i t i ca l unce r t a in ty on the Nor th

Ind ian s t age fu r t he r s e rv ed to con s o l id a te the c i ty o f Ka s h i ,a s i t was known in r e l ig ious con tex t s , a s a cen t r e o f r i t ua la n d p i l g r i m a g e f o r t h e H i n d u s . T h e r e w a s a m a s s i v er ebu i ld ing o f t emp les , gha t s , t anks , we l l s , and mans ions byt h e n o b i li t y f r o m M a h a r a s h t r a , G u j a r a t , B e n g a l , B i h a r ,R a j a s t h a n , P u n j a b , K a s h m i r , M y s o r e a n d M a d r a s . T h e y s e tu p o f f i c e r s a n d T r u s t s t o . m a i n t a i n t h e s e , a n d t o m a n a g e t h eo the r r e l a t ed ac t iv i t i e s o f p ro v id ing fo r poo r p i lg r im s ,begga r s , and s cho la r s o f Sans k r i t t h rough g r an t s o f ca s h ,foo d , and l iv ing s pac e . Even a p r e l i mi na ry s u rvey o f theb iog raph ic a l f ac t s ab ou t s om e o f the Sans k r i t pand i t s o fB a n a r a s p r o d u c e s t h e s e n a m e s a s p r o m i n e n t a m o n g t h ep a t r o n s o f S a n s k r i t l e a r n i n g : t h e H a t h u a M a h a r a j a K r i s h n aP r a t a p S a h i , t h e R a m p u r D a r b a r , t h e B a n a r a s M a h a r a j aI s h w a n P r a s a d , t h e R i w a R a j a , t h e N e p a l M a h a r a j a , V i n a y a kR a o P e s h w a , t h e G w a l i o r M a h a r a j a , t h e R a j a o f K a s h m i r ,t h e M i t r a s o f C h a u k h a m b h a , t h e c o u r t o f B a j i r a o I I , t h eM a h a r j a of M a n d i , t h e R a j a o f V i j a y a n a g r a m , t h e D a r b h a n g aR a j a L a k s h m i s h w a r S i n g h , J a y a j i R a o o f G w a l i o r , a n d t h eR a j a ( o r R a m ? ) o f R u i n y a .

Al l t h i s ac t iv i ty s e rved to r e - a r t i cu la t e and r e - inv igo ra t ea d is c o u r s e r e g a r d i n g a p a r t i c u l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e np o w e r , k n o w l e d g e , a n d h i e r a r c h y . T h o s e w h o m i g r a t e d t oKas h i were even more in t e r e s t ed in the s ac r ed na tu r e o f thec i ty exempl i f i ed in i t s l i f e s ty l e , i t s l ea rn ing , i t s" t r ad i t ions " than they had been be fo re , o r t ha t o the r ,n o n - i m m i g r a n t , r e s i d e n t s w e r e . T h i s s a c r a l i z a t io n w a s n odoub t l ed by the r i t ua l s pec ia l i s t s o f Kas h i , whos e s ou rce o fl i v e l ih o o d w a s t h e p i l g r i m a g e i n d u s t r y . 2

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TypesArabicKuranPersianUrduSanskrit

{ NagariHindi { Kayasthi{ SarrafiArabic-PersianKuran-PersianPersian-UrduPersian-NagariPersian-KayasthiSanskrit-HindiUrdu-HindiNagari-KayasthiNagari-SarrafiKuran-Persian-UrduArabic-Persian-UrduArabic-Kuran-PersianKuran-Arabic-Persian-UrduSanskrit-Nagari-MahajaniPersian-Urdu-HindiD o. Romanized)English-VernacularTahsili Schools

No. of Scholars8 60129 929

966 91644 57265 1865471 4261508 36614 5 72340 241378 323660 67114 15512 89254 3160

7 12212 12736 59713 1925 1007 812 416 152

,2 621 2619 195059 2945

Types o chools

No. of" Schools


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The s e 18 th and 19 th cen tu ry de ve l op me n t s a r e no l e s ss ign i f i can t f o r the h i s to ry o f educa t ion in the two fo l lowingcen tu r i e s than the p roces s es l aunched by the co lon ia lgov e rnm en t . Acc o rd ing to s t a t i s t i c s com pi l e d in 1850 , the r ewe re 193 Sans k r i t " s ch oo l s " and 1 ,939 s cho la r s in the c i tyo f B an a ras i t s e l f , and 3 18 Hind i and S ans k r i t m ixe d s choo l s ,wi th 1 ,949 s cho la r s , a l toge th e r the l a rges t num be r o fSans k r i t s cho o l s and s cho la r s in the p rov ince . A d i r ec tc o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n w e a l t h a n d l e a r n i n g w a s o f t e n m a d e :" the c i ty o f B ana ras , a s migh t have been expec ted f rom i t swea l th and r epu ta t ion , r anks h ighe r than any o the r in theNor th -wes t P rov inces in the means o f in s t ruc t ion fo r i t sinhab i t an t s " .

I f we ou r s e lv es accep t th i s d i r ec t co r e l a t ion be tw ee n thewea l th o f the c i ty and i t s educa t iona l pa t ronage , i t i sbecaus e we t ake fo r g r an ted the cen t r a l i t y o f s ymbo l i cr ep res en ta t ion , t ha t m o t iva t ion fo r pa t ro nag e cou ld a r i s e a sm u c h f r o m c u l t u r a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a s f r o m m o r e d i r e c tl yf o r m u l a t e d u t i l it a r i a n o n e s . T o u n d e r s t a n d i n v e s t m e n t inac t iv i t i e s s uch a s l ea rn ing r eq u i r e s a pa r t i cu la r no t ion o f" cap i t a l " . W e hav e been ma de s u f f i c i e n t ly aw are o f theimpor tance o f s ymbo l i c cap i t a l , wh ich , o f cou r s e , bea r sr ew ards wi th in a s oc ia l l i f e t im e . W e hav e d i s cu s s ion o fs ymbo l i c cap i t a l i n an th ropo log ica l l i t e r a tu r e , a s in thed i s cus s ion o f the dom ina n t ca s t e s eek in g to oc cu py cen t r a lp l ace in the con t ro l o f o the r ca s t e s th rough s ymbo l i c andr i tua l mea ns . I n ex te ns io n o f th i s , we migh t co ns id e r theno t ion , g iven the s ymbo l i c wor ld we a r e dea l ing wi th , o f" mer i t cap i t a l " , o r t he r ewards o f ce r t a in inves tmen t infu tu r e l i f e t imes . W ha t we wou ld pa r t ly ach iev e is t he

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r e s to r a t ion to the d i s cus s ion o f the mean ings o f thepa r t i cu la r s ymbo l s chos en , i n th i s ca s e , Sans k r i t educa t ion .Th e e l i te , as pa t ro ns o f cu l tu r e , a r e a lway s equa l ly engage din mean ing fu l a s u t i l i t a r i an ac t iv i ty , a s s eems to be mis s ed

by many s tud ie s tha t c r ed i t o rd ina ry peop le wi thr e l i g i o u s i t y s o m e t i m e s i n a n u n e x a m i n e d w a y - - b u t a r a j a o rm ah ar a j a on ly wi th a po l i t i ca l ca l cu la t ion r ega rd ing the

' r e t u r n s f r o m r e l i g i o u s p a t r o n a g e . 5 Re l ig i on is i t se l f ad i s c o u r s e o f p o w e r , a n d w h e r e a s p o w e r t y p i c a l l y c a m e f r o mm one y o r s t a tu s , i t cou ld equa l ly be a p rod uc t o f con f iden cein the mer i t o f the ac t ion .

R u le r s and the e l i t e pa t ro n i s ed S ans k r i t educa t ion beca us et h a t b e s t o w e d l e g i t i m a c y o n t h e m . T o c o m p r e h e n d t h echo ice o f pand i t s and Sans k r i t we wou ld have to t akes e r ious ly the i r s ym bo l i c wor ld , i n wh ich the ro l e o f theg u r u w a s v e n e r a t e d a n d h i s k n o w l e d g e b e l o n g e d t o at r ad i t ion acce p ted a s o ld , g iven , and e s t ab l i s hed by the 18thand 19 th cen tu r i e s . Fo lk lo r e , m y th o lo gy , and the a r t s a r er ep le t e wi th r e f e r ences to thes e va lues :

G u r u r u p B r a h m a ia n o . S h i v k a s w a r u p m a n oGuru ke s aman nah i dus r a i ahan men( " T he gu ru s ho u ld be look ed on a s B r ah ma , a s the imag e o fSh iva . Th e re i s no ne in the wo r ld com par ab l e to the gu ru" ) .

G u r u G o v i n d d o n o k h a r e . k a k e l a g o p a v e( " I f God and the gu ru a r e bo th s t an d ing be f o re me , a t wh os efee t s ha l l I f a l l f i r s t ? Th e gu ru ' s . )

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I n s h o r t , w h e t h e r t h e B r a h m a n w a s p r a c t i c a l l y d o m i n a n to v e r t h e e c o n o m i c a l l y p o w e r f u l c a s t e , f a m i l y , o r r a j a , o rno t ,6 he was ideo log ica l ly r eve red in a r t i cu la t ion in h i s r o l eo f gu ru . Th e p ro pe r t r e a tm en t o f a gu ru r e s u l t ed d i r ec t lybo th in inc r ea s ed wo r ld ly s t a tu s and in the acc um ula t i on o fm e r i t . T h e s y m b o l i c e f f i c a c y ( to u s e B o u r d i e u ' s t e r m ) o fS a n s k r i t l e a r n i n g m a d e a c a s e f o r i ts c o n t i n u i n g d o m i n a t i o njudg ing f rom the f ac t t ha t i t was the one s ing le type o fl ea rn ing pa t ron i s ed by the a r i s toc r acy and roya l hous es f romW e s t ( R a j a s t h a n , G u j a r a t , B a r o d a , P o o n a ) ; S o u t h ( M y s o r e ,M a d r a s ) ; C e n t r a l ( N a g p u r , G w a l i o r ) ; E a s t ( C a l c u t t a ,D a r b h a n g a , O r i s s a ) ; a n d N o r t h ( K a s h m i r , P u n j a b ) I n d i a .The exac t da te s o f the beg inn ing o f pa t ron age by the roya lhous es , l and lo rd s , and merchan t s f r om thes e p l aces i s no teas i ly a s ce r t a inab le be ca us e in the s ou rce s the m ean ing o fpa t r ona ge has co m e to be a na m ed in s t i t u t ion wi th o f f i c i a lr eg i s t r a t ion in the 20 th cen tu ry . Th e ans we rcha rac te r i s t i ca l ly g ive n today in r ep ly to a ques t ionrega rd ing the h i s to ry o f an in s t i t u t ion be co m es " I t wa sregis tered in 1920/ 1930. . . e tc ." 7 In fac t the re we re noins t i tu t ions as such in the 19th century or before , as wi l l bed i s cus s e d be low . T he in s t i t u t ions tha t pos s e s s ac tua lh i s t o r ie s a re t h e f o l l o w i n g S a n s k r i t p a t h s h a l a s : D a r b h a n g a

' P a t h s h a l a f o u n d e d b y R a j a L a k s h i s h v a r S i n g h i n c . 1 8 8 0( 2 1 4 ) , N a g w a S a n g v e d a V i d y a l a y a , f o u n d e d b y P a n d i tG o v i n d P a n d e y a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y ( 2 2 3 - 4 ) ,R u i n y a , a b r e a k a w a y b r a n c h o f t h e N a g w a s c h o o lm a i n t a i n e d b y t h e M a r w a r i s e t h R u i n y a ( 2 2 4 ) , R a n a b i rS a n s k r i t P a t h s h a l a , f o u n d e d b y K a s h i n a r e s h R a n a b i r S i n g h ,c . 1875 (231 ) , B a la j i mand i r , f ounded by B ah ina B a i( 2 7 9 - 8 0 ) , a n d G o i n k a V i d y a l a y a , e s t a b l i s h e d b y S e t h

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G a u r i s h a n k a r G o i n k a i n 1 9 2 6 ( 4 0 9 ) .Suc h a va r ie d a nd ge ne rous pa t rona ge impl ie d a

c onse nsus r e ga rd ing the powe r o f the guru . Wha t ha s be e nle s s in te re s t ing to s c ho la r s a nd wha t we would l ike to dohe re i s to inspe c t the me c ha n isms by whic h the d i sc ourse o fthe Sa nskr i t guru c la ime d immuta b i l i ty , un t ra c e a b le l ine a ge s ,a nd a pe rm a n e n c e tha t c ou ld no t be c ha l le nge d .Th e Di sc our se of Sans kr i t edu cat ion : the p lace o f theguru

On e of the mo s t in te re s t ing f a c e t s o f Sa nskr i t e duc a t ioni s i t s "h idd e n c ur r ic u lum " , to use the t e rm of e duc a t ionl i te ra ture , i ts " la tent fun c t io n" , to t ran s la t e i t in toa n th ropo log ic a l the ory , o r i t s d i s c ourse , to use the mos tre c e n t a nd pow e r fu l ve r s ion o f the ide a . T h a t is , whi leos te ns ib ly impa r t ing le a rn ing in wa ys we c a ne thnogra ph ic a l ly r e -c re a te , a nd do ing so fo r the s a ke o f thele a rn ing i t s e l f , wh a t the " sc hoo ls " we re e qua l ly pur s u in g wa sa d i f f e re n t goa l a l toge the r . T he no t io n o f "h idde nc u r r i c u l u m " t e l ls u s t h a t w h i l e t h e k n o w l e d g e - p u r s u i tfun c t io n o f s c ho o ls s ta nds in a non -c on se nsu a l r e la t ionsh ipto soc ie ty ( tha t o f r e -bu i ld ing o r improv ing i t ) , the o the rgoa l o f ins t i tu t ions ma ke s the m func t iona l ly a da p te d tosoc ie ty ( tha t o f p re se r v ing a nd re pro duc i ng i t) . Sa nskr i tl e a r n i n g , w e m a y h y p o t h e s i z e , f u l f i l l e d t h i s n e e d : r e p r o d u c e dthe soc ia l h ie ra r c hy a nd suppor te d the l a rge ly una nno unc e dv a l u e s y s t e m . T h e n o t i o n o f d i s c o u r s e ' w o r k s si m i l a rl y .W ha t wa s a nou nc e d a s T ru e a nd Na tu ra l wa s a r e la t ionsh ipa nd a n e xc lus ion tha t e na b le d the ma in te na nc e o f a powe rs t ruc tu re .

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1he pu rpos e , f un c t ion , and end r e s u l t o f t he Sans k r i t i cs y s t em o f educa t ion was to pe rpe tua te the pos i t ion o f thet each e r and to ma in ta in neces s a ry h ie r a r ch ica l r e l a t ions h ip sin plac e. Bu t this in i tself is not an ex ha us tiv e insig ht intothe work ings o f the s y s t em, pa r t i cu la r ly in to the d r ama t i ct r ans fo rma t ions i t unde rwen t in the l a t e r 19 th and 20 thcen tur ies . I t i s on ly by g iv ing a t ten t ion to the w ay s bywh ich the pow er was m a in ta ine d , t ha t is , t o the t echno log yof r i tua ls , tha t we may g l impse the nature of i t s pass ing .

There are two se ts of source mater ia ls avai lab le to us :o f f i c i a l r epo r t s and a l t e rna t ive na r r a t ives . Th e bu lk o f ou rin fo rma t ion r ega rd ing a l l p r e - co lon ia l s choo l ing comes f romthe R epo r t s on Ind igenous Educa t ion and s imi l a r r epo r t s o fadmin i s t r a to r s l i ke Hen ry S tewar t R e id , M. Kemps on , R .Th o rn to n , R .T H. Gr i f f i t h , and S i r Al f r ed Lya l l . The s e a reinva lu ab le f ro m the s t a t is t i ca l po in t o f v i ew . Fro m the po in to f v i ew o f comprehend ing the work ing o f the s y s t em, theya re a mix ed b le s s ing . They exh ib i t a lm os t a lw ays a cooland s imp le e th noce n t r i s m : a s en t im en t tha t o f cou r s e the r eis val id i ty in th is ind igenous pract ice of educat ion for i t sp r ac t i t i one r s , bu t by the B r i t i s h , accus tomed to the i r s upe r io rs y s t em o f ind igenous l ea rn ing , i t c an on ly be r ega rded wi tha mix tu r e o f s a r cas m, amus emen t , and occas iona l pa t ron i s ingto le r anc e . The a t ti t ude i s p r e s en t in the me res t men t ion ofthe subjec t , as wh en a scho ol i s "su ppo sed to ex is t" w here" an ind iv idua l w i th l e i s u r e a t h i s com m an d , be l i ev in g tha t t oim par t ins t ruct io n to the r is ing yo uth aro un d h im is animpera t ive du ty , co l l ec t s a s many s cho la r s a s wi l l p l acethems e lves unde r h i s ca r e . " 8 Given ou r r e l i anc e on thes es ou rces , we expe r i ence an in s id ious , uncons c ious conve r s ionto an unde r s t and ing o f thes e p r ac t i ce s a s inhe ren t ly l imi t ed .

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Th is i s pa r t i cu la r ly s o s in ce m os t o f the r epo r t s da te f romthe second hal f of the n inet een th c ent ury in the case of theN.W. Prov inces , when an ea r l i e r de f ens ivenes s o f the B r i t i s hgove rnmen t r ega rd ing the i r l ack o f s ucces s aga in s te s t ab l i s hed educa t iona l p r ac t i ce had a lmo s t d i s appe a red .

M et ho do lo g ica l ly , t h i s p r o b l e m c a n be r e s o l v e d by p a y i n gs pec ia l a t t en t ion to wha t may be ca l l ed " a l t e rna t iven a r r a t iv e s . " T h e s e c o n s i s t o f p s e u d o - a c a d e m i c a c c o u n t s o fp r e - co lon ia l edu ca t ion cu l l ed f ro m l i t e r a ry andb iog raph ica l /h ag io g rap h ica l s ou rce s , s uch a s in the chap te rc a l l e d " K a s h i s t h a p a n d i t o n k i s a m a n y a v i s h e s h t a y e n " ( " t h eg e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r o f K a s h i p a n d i t s " ) b y B a l d e v U p a d h y a y a . 9He d i s cus s es he r e s om e s even f e a tu r e s o f the pand i t s o fB ana ras : s p i r i tua l i ty and o the r wor ld l ines s , s imp le l i v ing andpu r s u i t o f h igh minded ques t ions , devo t ion to s tuden t s , l oveo f Sans k r i t , s k i l l i n deba te , s wee tnes s o f s peech , and pu r i tyo f o r a t ion o f Sans k r i t , e s pec ia l ly th e Ve das . Th i s k in d o facc oun t is unr ef le c t iv ely ca sual in . it s a t ten t ion to the n ice t ieso f r e s ea r ch p rocedu res though ve ry impres s ive in the l abou rtha t has obv ious ly go ne in to it s da t a co l l e t ion . I t a l s o m ake sno s ec r e t o f i t s r e l i ance on nos ta lg i a ( the au tho r , h ims e l f aSans k r i t pand i t , t yp ica l ly be longs to the lo s t wor ld ) andc o m p e n s a t i o n f o r v i c t i m i s a t i o n b y c o l o n i a l i s m . H o w e v e r t h edes c r ip t ion i s impo r t an t b eca us e i t r e f e r s to an idea l , an idea ltha t even today i s evoked when a ques t io n r ega rd ing thes t a tu s o f Sans k r i t l ea rn ing o r the Sans k r i t pand i t i s pu t t o ascholar or s tudent .

A m o r e " u n c o n t a m i n a t e d " s o u r c e i s t h e c o r p u s o fanecd o tes abou t pand i t s , bo th o r a l and wr i t t en . I n an i r on icpa ra l l e l t o r e s ea r ch on women iron ic in tha t we wou ld becom par in g B rah ma n m a les , qu i t e a t t he top o f the r it ua l and

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gend e r h i e r a r ch ie s , and non - B r ah m an f em a les , a t t he o the rend o f the po le we have to r econs t ruc t t he power o f thep a n d i t s f r o m t h e s e u n o f f i c i a l a n e c d o t e s w i t h im a g i n a t i o n a n dgene ros i ty , s ince the na r r a t ives o f f i c i a l ly ava i l ab le to u s g iveonly one s ide of the s tory . 1 0

W e a ls o kno w f ro m the cas e o f ma ny o lde r s cho la r s a l ivetoday what the wor ld of the s tudent of Sanskr i t fe l t l ike inthe i r you th . W e can in t e rp r e t t he cha rac te r i s t i c s o f the o lde rs cheme tha t con t inue on in Sans k r i t educa t ion today fo rwha t the i r imp l i ca t io n may hav e been . F ina l ly we kno wf rom chance r emarks in d i s cus s ions o f s cho la r s h ip in gene ra labou t how i t w as imp ar t ed . Th e f ac t o f t he g u ru ' si m p o r t a n c e i s e l a b o r a t e d * for ins ta nce in a deta i le dd i s cus s ion o f the d i s c ip l in e by B a l l an tyne in h i s e s s ay " TheP a n d i t s a n d t h e i r M a n n e r , o f T e a c h i n g " p u b l i s h e d o v e rs eve ra l i s s ues o f the Pa nd i t i n the 186 0s . " Fro m m oretangen t i a l r e f e r ences , we know tha t a l l i n t e r e s t edE n g l i s h m e n , p r o m i n e n t a m o n g t h e m W i l l i a m J o n e s ,expe r i enced " the power o f the gu ru" , i n i t i a l ly pe rhaps in no tf ind ing a co -o pe r a t ive " pand i t " , a s they ca l l ed the i r t eache r s ,and l a t e r pe rhaps wi th the t eache r s ' expec ta t ions o f the i rs tuden t s .1 2 W e can r ec r ea te f r om thes e s ou rce s ane thno g raph ic acco un t o f Sans k r i t educa t io n in the 19 thcen tu ry .

Th e f i r s t and pe rh ap s s imp le s t po in t conc e rns the u s e o fs pace . I n " s cho o l " we a r e toda y accus tom ed to a t e rmw h o s e m o d e r n c o n n o t a t i o n s w e r e n o t a p p l i c a b l e t o I n d i a np rac t i ce s in the 19 th cen tu ry . Th e re we re at t ha t t im e noind igenous in s t i t u t ions o f the k ind becoming the no rm inEng land . A " s cho o l " in the Ind ian s y s t em mu s t beunde r s tood wi th ca r e fu l a t t en t ion to it s ow n as s oc ia t ion s and

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me an ing s . Th e re wa s no Sans k r i t o r Hind us tan i t e rmequ iv a len t t o " s choo l " . The c lo s es t equ iva len t i ss h ik s ha -d ik s ha , o r t he g iv ing and r ece ip t o f t each ing . 1 3 As choo l equa l l ed a s ing le t each e r , and a s choo l w as the p l acewh ere the t each e r s a t , t yp ica l ly h i s hom e . A s choo l was no tunde r s tood a s a bu i ld ing , a s pec ia l i s ed s p ace apa r t f r om thephys ica l p r e s ence o f the t eache r .

A s econd po in t conce rns the mean ings o f t ime , inc lud ingthe l ayou t o f the day , t he week , t he mon th and the l i f e o fthe s tudent .

The hours of s tudy were f rom 6 or 7 a .m. to 11 in themorn ing , and then aga in in the l a t e a f t e rnoon f rom 3 to 4p .m. M orn ing s tudy a lw ays began a f t e r on ly mi lk and f ru i t ;t he s tudy o f Vedas o r any o the r uchch g r an th (h igh o rs pec ia l wo rks ) wa s fo rb idd en a f t e r ea t ing ce r ea l . Th e rewe re e igh t mo n th ly ho l i day s : two a t As h tam i ( the 8 th and23 rd o f eve ry mo n th ) , two a t Pa rw a ( the 1 s t and 16 th o feve ry mon th ) , and two a t C ha tu rdas h i ( the 14 th and 29 th o fe v e r y m o n t h ) , p l u s o n e e a c h a t A m a v a s y a a n d P u r n a m a s h i( the 15th and 30 th o f eve ry mo n th ) . Ho l ida ys we re fu r th e rs pec ia l i s ed , s uch a s f o r thos e who cou ld r ead , f o r thos e w hos t u d i e d g r a m m a r ( P a n i m ' s d e a t h a n n i v e r s a r y t r a y o d a s h i , o rthe 13 th day ) , t hos e who s tud ied l i t e r a tu r e ( ekadas h i , o r t he11 th day ) e t c . The cou r s e o f s tudy l a s t ed fo r app rox ima te ly10 ye ars and co uld be gin a t any age f r om 8 to 18 . Th usy o u n g b o y s , o l d e r b o y s , a n d y o u n g m e n c o u l d b e s t u d y i n gtoge the r .

The unde r s t and ing o f the s tuden t ' s age and capac i ty andof the teacher ' s centra l i ty led natura l ly ' to a ser ies ofp r inc ip le s r eg a rd i ng the s tuden t ' s c r a f t . S ince the r e werema ny s tude n t s o f va r y in g ab i l i t i e s toge the r and a t va r ious

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s t ag e s o f p ro g re s s , t h e f i r s t an d l o n g es t p ro c es s i n t h e s ch o o ld ay co n s i s t ed o f r ev i s i o n w i t h a s en i o r s t u d en t , o r p a t hl ag a n a . i .e . , r ec i t a t i o n o f v e r s e s . N o p ro g re s s co u l d b e m ad eu n t il e v e r y t h i n g p r e v i o u s l y t a u g h t h a d b e e n m e m o r i s e d a n dco u l d b e r ec i t ed t o p e r f ec t i o n . T h e g u ru , i n h i s t u rn , l o o k eda f t e r e a c h s t u d e n t w h i l e t h e o t h e r s r e c i t e d a n d p e r f e c t e d .

J a m e s B a l l a n t y n e , t h e p r i n c i p a l o f t h e G o v e r n m e n tS a n s k r i t C o l l e g e f r o m i 8 4 6 t o 1 8 6 1 , t r a n s l a t e d m a n yS a n s k r i t w o r k s i n to E n g l i s h w i t h c o m m e n t a r i e s o n t h e i ri m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e W e s t e r n s t u d e n t , a n d t h e p r o c e s s o f t h e i rs t u d y i n g en e ra l . S o m e o f h i s e s s a y s , p u b l i s h ed i n T h eP a n d i t g i v e a n e x c e l l e n t i n s i g h t i n t o t h o s e f e a t u r e s o fS a n s k r i t e d u c a t i o n w h i c h s t r u c k a n o u t s i d e r a sr e m a r k a b l e - - t h e v e r y f e a t u r e s t h a t e l i c i t n o c o m m e n t f r o mt h e p a n d i t s t h e m s e l v e s w h o t o o k t h e m f o r g r a n t e d . H ed es c r i b es t h e i n i t i a l s t ag e o f l ea rn i n g a s fo l l o w s :

" T h e p u p i l [ h a v i n g m a s t e r e d t h e a l p h a b e t ] p r o c e e d s t oc o m m i t t o m e m o r y s o m e t w e n t y p a g e s o f th eg r a m m a r - w r i t t e n in S a n s k r i t w i t h o u t u n d e r s t a n d i n g o n ew o r d o f i t. A s h e i s ab o u t n i n e y e a r o l d , an ag e a t w h i cht h e m e m o r y i s s t r o n g a n d t h e r e f l e c t i v e f a c u l t i e sco m p ara t i v e l y i n ac t i v e , t h i s t o i l o f s h ee r l ea rn i n g b yr o t e w h i c h , to a m a t u r e m i n d , w o u l d b e a d r u d g e r y s i m p l yi n s u p p o r t a b l e a p p e a r s n e i t h e r t o f a t i g u e n o r t o d i s t r e s s h i m .H e c o m m i t s t o m e m o r y e v e r y t h i n g a s h e g o e s a lo n g ; a n di n an t i c i p a t i o n o f t h i s , w h a t ev e r o ccu r s i n t h e co u r s e o f t h eg r a m m a r p r e - s u p p o s e s t h e m o s t c o m p l e t e r e c o l l e c t i o n o f a l lt h a t w e n t b e f o r e . A n y p r e v i o u s m a t t e r is t h e r e f o r e r e f e r r e dt o , w h en r e f e r e n ce is n o t t ac i t , w i t h s u ch s h o r t h a n d b rev i t yo f a l l u s i o n a s i s o f n o ea r t h l y u s e t o an y o n e w h o s er e c o l l e c t i o n i s m u c h l e s s p e r f e c t t h a n t h a t p r e - s u p p o s e d .

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This p r inc ip le - -o f the p r e - s upp os i t ion o f pe r f ec t r eco l l ec t iono f a l l t h a t w e n t b e f o r e - r u n s t h r o u g h t h e w h o l e g r a m m a t i c a ll i te ra ture of the Sanskr i t . . . . " 1 4

As to the ac tual con ten t of the cur r ic u lum , ther e is c learno ta t ion in gove rnmen t r eco rds , and more than tha t , we haveexamples o f s eve ra l i n s t i t u t ions and t eache r s in B ana ras whocan g ive u s de ta i l s e i the r a s r emembered o r even a scurren t ly pract ised . As such , there is no d is t inc t l ine to bed rawn be tween the " o ld" and the " new" , be tween the 19 thand 20th centur ies .

S u b j e c t s b e t w e e n w h i c h c h o i c e s c o u l d b e m a d e w e r eG r a m m a r ( N y a y a ) , L i t e r a t u r e ( S a h i t v a ), L o g i c ( N y a y a ) ,As t ro logy ( J yo t i s h ) , Ph i lo s ophy (Dar s han ) wi th emphas i s onany of the schools , and the Vedas , wi th choice of anyb ranch . Th e cho ic e had been m ade fo r the mo s t pa r t whenthe s tuden t came to the t eache r becaus e each t eache r ,the r e f o r e each " in s t i t u t ion" , s pec ia l i s ed in one o r two o fthes e f i e ld s , o r s pec i f i ca l ly in the Vedas (o r one o f them) o rVedan ta . Na tu r a l ly , each f i e ld had i ts own " s y l l ab us " , r u l e s ,t ex t s , and s t anda rds , and commun i ty o f s cho la r s . I t was no tunusual for a specia l is t in one to begin tak ing in teres t in ad i f f e r en t a r ea wh i l e he was t each in g h i s ow n , and t ake upthe s tudy of h is ne w in teres t wi th a specia l is t o f tha t area .A n e x a m p l e i s P a n d i t R a m y a s h T n p a t h i , g r a m m a r i a n , w h otaugh t , among o the r p l aces , a t Marwar i Sans k r i t C o l l ege andG o i n k a S a n s k r i t C o l l e g e b e t w e e n 1 9 1 8 a n d 1 9 4 1 . W h i l et e a c h i n g G r a m m a r h e s t u d i e d N y a y a f o r 11 y e a r s w i t hV a m a c h a r a n B h a t t a c h a r y a ; t h e n S h a n k a r V e d a n t a f o r 8 y e a r sw i th L a k s h m a n S h a s t r i , a n d M i m a n s a f o r 6 y e a r s w i t h C h i n nS w a m i .

1 5

The t a i lo r ed ind iv id ua l cou r s e work p lu s s e l f - e s t ab l i s hed

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mutua l r e l a t ions be tw een t each e r and s tuden t , a s we l l a s theideas o f s e rv ice tha t wen t wi th educa t ion , en s u red tha t t hel eve l o f r e s pons ib i l i t y in educa t ion was h igh . B u t" d i s c ip l ine" was c l ea r ly a ma t t e r o f i n t e rp r e t a t ion . To ap r o g r e s s i v e su c h as B h a r a t e h d u H a r i s h c h a n d r a , h i m s e l fun re l a t ed to the Sans k r i t i c s y s t em and anx ious fo r h i scoun t rymen to adop t the B r i t i s h one , t he p roces s o f s tudyseemed to go l ike th is .

" The re i s no t any g r ea t d i s c ip l ine in vogue . . . .Th e t eache rdevo tes ce r t a in hou r s to t ea ch i ng [ a s opp os ed to hav ingf i x e d h o u r s a n d d e m a n d i n g p u n c t u a l i t y ] , . .. n o c u r r i c u l u m i sf ixed and each boy r eads h i s own books and has h i s ownles s on . Eve n the boys r ea d in g the s am e book have d i f f e r en tl e s s ons . The t eache r wi l l no t r e t a rd the p rog re s s o f a sha rpboy in ord er to pus h on wi th h im an indole nt one . Eachs tudent goes to the tu tor for a shor t t ime to receive h isl e s s on . Ad van ced s tuden t s he l p thos e wh o a r e backw ard .The s choo l s s ad ly l ack the d i s c ip l ine in vogue ing o v e r n m e n t s c h o o l s . " 1 6

B u t acco rd ing to ano the r obs e rve r , th i s one a s pec ia l i st ,t he Depu ty In s pec to r o f Schoo l s o f Al l ahabad Dis t r i c t : " thed i s c ip l ine , s o f a r a s r eve rence and obed ience i s conce rned ,i s f a r s upe r io r to tha t i n ou r gove rnmen t s choo l s , t hough l axin o ther respects ." 1 7

Un der ly in g thes e p r e s up pos i t ion s abou t s pace , t ime , andcu r r i cu la r an s om e bas i c p r in c ip l e s o f h i e r a r ch y . Ageh ie r a r c hy has a l r eady bee n ind ic a ted , a s has been thesuper ior i ty- of f ine mat ter ( f ru i ts and milk) over gross( ce r ea l s ) , and o f the ind i v idu a l ove r the g roup . C as teh ie r a r ch y r equ i r ed no me n t io n in g ; i t was co inc iden ta l wi thoccu pa t ion a l s pec ia l i s a t ion fo r the mo s t pa r t . S tude n t s o f

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Sans k r i t we re a lmo s t exc lu s iv e ly B ra hm an , wi th theo cca s io na l B a n i y a o r K a y a s t h a v e n t u r i n g i n. T e a c h e r s w e r etyp ica l ly B rahman , aga in wi th Kayas thas and more r a r e ly ,B an iyas a s excep t ions , bu t t he s ubd iv i s ions wi th in the l a rgev a r n a c a t e g o r y o f " B r a h m a n " w e r e s e c o n d a r y i n i m p o r t a n c eto the s ta tus of learn ing reached by the scholar .

G end er h i e r a r chy w as no t up fo r ques t ion in g o r cha l l enge .The pa t ron o f l ea rn ing was a goddes s , Sa r as wa t i , one o f thefo rm s - o f the God des s o f many na m es and fo r m s in theHindu i con ica l s y s t em, wi th many cha rac te r i s t i c s o f o the rgod des s es and s ome pecu l i a r ly he r ow n . Sh e i s des c r ibed a s" g lowing wi th the coo l beau ty o f the s now, pea r l s , camphorand the moon , the bes tower o f we l f a r e , deco ra t ed wi thgo lde n ga r l and s o f cham pak f lo w er s , wi th a t t r ac t ive l imbsr i s i n g f r o m f u l l - b o d i e d b r e a s t s " ( h i m , m u k t a h a r . k a p o o r t a t h ac h a n d r a m a k i a b h a k e s a m a n s h u b h r a k a n t i w a l u k a l v a np r a d a n k a r n e w a l i . s u v a r n a s a d n s h a p i t c h a m p a k p u s h p o n k im a l a se v i b h u s h i t . u t h e h u v e s u p u s h t a k u c h k u m b h o n s em a n o h a r a n g a w a l i . . . ) - - a f i g u r e o f n o t i c e a b l e f e m i n i n echa rm s and com para b le to the Shak ta god des s e s in tha t s he" i s k n o w n t h r o u g h B r a h m a v i d y a b y y o g i s w h o c a n t h e ndes t roy a l l bonds and reach the f i r s t p lace . . . . " 1 8

No f ema les were t augh t the Vedas o r any o the r b r anch o fthe shas t ras . No g i r ls w en t to pa nd i ts to s tudy , and i f anyo f them d id acqu i r e Sans k r i t i t was wi th in the f ami ly , a sdaugh te r o r s i s t e r o r , more r a r e ly , wi f e , o f a pand i t . 1 9H o w e v e r , a p a r t f r o m t h e e s s e n t ia l p a t r o n a g e f o r l e a r n i n gf ro m Sa ra s wa t i , t h e r e i s an un de r ly in g and rogyn i ty to them am g ods s uch as B ra hm a , V i s hn u , and Sh iva , and aco r r e s pond ing l ack o f r ig id and s epa ra t ing ' mas cu l in i ty ' i nthe l an gua ge and me taph o r o f San s k r i t . Th i s con t r a s t s, f o r

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i n s t ance , w i th the u s e o f ' ma le ' a s a ce l eb ra to ry ad j ec t ive inEng l i s h , a s whe n M ui r p r a i s ed Eng l i s h i t se l f " as op en ing upto you [h i s San s k r i t s tude n t s ] t he s ou rces o f the pu res t , t h emos t mas cu l ine , and mos t s a lu t a ry t r u th . " 2" L e a r n i n g w a spe rhaps f ema le in the Hindu /Sans k r i t s y s t em, a s i t wasm a s c u l i n e i n the C hr i s t i an /E ng l i s h . Th e pan d i t s , a llhou s eh o lde r s , we re r ank ed lower than s any as i s o r a s ce t i c sbecaus e o f the i r embro i lmen t in the wor ld o f kama andka rm a , bu t r anked h ig he r in the i r l ea rn ing . Y og es h w arShas t r i ( b . lS28 ) " d id no t look down upon s adhus and s a in t sno ma t t e r how i l l - educa ted they were . " 2 1 B r a h m a c h a r y a , o rce l ibacy , s uppos ed ly a cen t r a l va lue in Hindu i s m, i s no tm e n t i o n e d in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e p a n d i t s , p r e s u m a b l ybecaus e o f the i r hous eho lde r s t a tu s .

T h e r e w a s n o c e l e b r a t i o n , h o w e v e r , o f t h i s h o u s e h o l d e rs ta tus . I t w as perh ap s a duty as a s tag e in l i fe , perh ap s anece s s a ry ev i l . Th e pan d i t s were " o the r -w or ld ly " , a s wi l l beexp and ed be low, and pa r t o f t h i s d i s t anc in g f ro m the g ro s sand ma te r i a l wor ld w as a d i s in t e r e s t i n w i f e and f am i ly . Nowiv es a r e eve r men t io ned in connec t ion w i th the pand i t s 'l i v es o r a c h i e v e m e n t s . A m o n g m a n y o t h e r p a n d i t s , J a y d e vM is r a (b . 1844 ) , Sh ivk um ar Shas t r i ( b . 1857 ) , and Y og es hw arShas t r i ( b . 1828 ) a r e des c r ib ed a s hav ing no t im e fo rdom es t i c du t i e s o r a no rm a l l if e . " S tu dy in g and t ea ch in g ,r ec i t a t ion and p r aye r s . . . t h e r e was no o the r ac t iv i ty in h i sl i f e . " i s a f a i r des c r ip t ion o f a goo d San s k r i t pand i t ' sr o u t i n e . - 2

To g ras p the nuances o f thes e concep t s , and fu r the runde r s t and the no t ion o f l ea rn ing , o f t he t ex t and the word ,the t eache r and the s tuden t , and the ve ry pu rpos e o fedu ca t ion , we s hou ld look fu r the r a t s o m e r e co rd ed

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e xpe r ie nc e s o f a c tua l pa nd i t s .

The lore about Pandi tsRa m ya sh T n pa th i (b . 1 88 4) ' g re w up in a v i l l a ge ne a r

Va ra na s i , a nd a c c ord ing to the wishe s o f h i s f a the r s tud ie dAst rolo gy and r i tua ls loca l ly . "But a f te r he s tudied theMnhnr t Ch in ta ma ni , the Sa ra swa t i r e s id ing wi th in h imspe c ia l ly e nc oura ge d h im to s tudy Gra mma r a nd o the r t e x t s .As a resul t he le f t ho m e one nig ht and reach ed Kashi . In af e w d a y s , w i th t h e g r a c e o f M o t h e r - o f - t h e - w o r l d A n n a p u r n a ,a r a i s o f Ka sh i , J a ga tga n j r e s ide n t S r i Ba bu Ka vindraNa ra y a n S ing h g a ve h im a p la c e to sta y in h i s Sh iva t e mple ,a nd ga ve h im e ve ry k ind o f he lp towa rds h i s s tud le s . " - ,

W e se e e xe mp l i f i e d he re two typ ic a l f e a tu r e s o f Sa nskr i tedu ca t io n. No matte r wh ere a perso n s ta r ts , d irec ted by aparent and so on, the ul t imate choice of spec ia l ty is made byh im unde r a n in te rna l d i r e c t ive .

2 4 Se c on d , pa t ron a ge f ind sthe ind iv idua l who i s s e r ious a nd de d ic a te d in the wa y

de sc r ibe d a b ove , tha t i s , in no p re d ic ta b le wa y . T hea mbi t ious s tude n t mus t be p re pa re d to f a c e ha rdsh ip in thefo rm of pove r ty , s impl ic i ty , s c a rc i ty , a nd phys ic a l d i s c omfor tof any na t ure . As for an asce t ic , the r igo urs of thes e may bedirec t ly re la t ed to his s tugg les a t his s tudies . Ev en his guruma y a c t a s a n obs ta c le , a s in the c a se o f Drona c ha rya whode ma nde d the r igh t thumb of h i s s ta r a rc he ry pup i l a sda ksh ina , knowing fu l ly we l l tha t a n a rc he r wi thou t a r igh tthu mb i s inc a pa c i ta te d . A l l k ind s o f t e s t s a re c ons ide re dtyp ic a l o f the s tumbl ing roa d one mus t t r a ve l in o rde r towo o Sa ra swa t i . He nc e the v i s ion o f l e a rn ing a s t a pM,

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medi t a t ion , yoga , o r concen t r a t ion .Anecdo tes l i ke the fo l lowing t e l l u s o f many o the r

s i g n i f i c a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e e d u c a t i o n . W h e n S u d h a k a rDw ived i ( b. 1860 ) was r eady to beg in h i s As t ro log y l e s s onsin the Sans k r i t C o l l ege , he wen t and s a t down nea r Pand i tD e v k r i s h n a M i s h r a b y m i s t a k e r a t h e r t h a n P a n d i t B a p u d e vShas t r i a s was h i s f a th e r ' s i n s t ruc t ion and h i s ow n in t en t ion .Upon h i s mis t ake be ing d i s cove red , h i s f a the r upb ra ided h imand in s i st ed he go to B a pu de v Shas t r i now . B u t Sud hak a rDwived i s a id , " I have opened my book in f ron t o f a gu ru ,and tha t gu ru on ly wi l l be my gu ru f ro m now on . " 2 5

When Pand i t Ni tyanand Pan t ( b . 1867 ) f in i s hed h i sV e d a n t a a n d D h a r m a s h a s t r a s t u d i e s , h e w a n t e d t o t a k es anyas and wen t to h i s gu ru Pand i t Gangadha r Shas t r i f o radv ice . Sh as tn j i t o ld h im, " E very one in Kas h i i s a gu ru ; noone wa n t s to be a f o l low er . The re i s no need fo r s uch al ea rned man a s yo u to t ake s anyas . B u t if yo u mus t , youhav e to f i r s t p r e s en t be fo r e me two s uch s tuden t s wh om youhave en r i ched wi th you r t each ing o f the s has t r a s and madethem t ru ly l ea rned . Th e t i r e l e s s l abo u r tha t has gon e in tomy mak ing you s uch a s cho la r can on ly be r epa id by s ucha gu rud aks h in a . " On he a r in g th i s . Pan t j i g av e up h i s r e s o lveo f s anyas fo r the t im e and devo ted h im s e l f t o p rod uc in gma ny exce l l en t s tuden t s . Tw o o f them r ece iv ed the t i t le o f" M a h a m a h o p a d h y a y a " l i k e h i m s e l f . T h e n i n t h e l a st d a y s ofh i s l i f e he f ina l ly fu l f i l l ed h i s g r ea t des i r e to t ake s anyas . 2 6

Th e imp or tanc e o f the gu ru i s h igh l igh te d by bo th thes ton es , a s s om eon e tha t yo u do no t aban don o nce you havetaken h im as gu ru , a s we l l a s s om eo ne w hos e pe rm is s ionyou s eek fo r eve ry imp or t an t m ov e in you r li f e . B u t equ a l lyc lea r i s t he g r ea t imp or t an ce o f the s tuden t . H e i s

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indispensable to the succ ess of the guru . H e volunta r i lyc hoose s the guru , but a f te r tha t the guru is as bound to himas the s tud ent is to the gu ru. Th e very meas ure of theteach er ' s success is the num be r and s t i l l m ore , the qua l i ty ofh i s s tude n ts . I f he doe s no t r e pro du c e h i s l ea rn ing , he isno th ing , he i s known by the s tude n ts he p roduc e s .

All th is is , of course , worldly ac t ivi ty , and the world ofthese t ransac t ions is contras ted to tha t of sanyas , orrenunciation. A sc ho la r a nd /o r t e a c he r o f Sa nskr i t wa s no ta renouncer , and there is l i t t le doubt tha t the sanyas i ' spos i t ion wa s h igh e r tha n tha t o f the pa nd i t ' s . T he p urposeof the r e nou nc e r wa s to f r e e h im se l f f ro m a l l bo nds a s f a r a sposs ib le a nd p re pa re h im se l f fo r mo ksh a . T h e purpo se o fthe schola r was to se rve the cause of his s tudents , ofSa nskr i t , a nd o f l e a rn ing in ge ne ra l . An d a pa nd i t c ou ldha ve o the r in te re s t s a s we l l . T h e b io gra p h ie s o f the se wiseme n a re r e p le te wi th r e fe re nc e s to the i r love o f l i f e :R a j a r a m S h a s t n ' s ( b . c . 1 8 3 0 ) f o r w r e s t l i n g ; 2 7 Y o g e s h w a rSha s t r i ' s (b . 1828) , Sh ivkuma r Sha s t r i ' s (b . 1857) , Ga nga dha rSha s t r i T e la ng ' s (b . 1853) , a nd Ba tunkna th Sha rma ' s (b . 1895)fo r mus ic a nd poe t ry ;2 8 Ra ma na t h Vy a s ' (b .c . 1860) fo r a r t;29a nd T a ra c ha ra n Bha t ta c ha rya ' s (b . 1884) fo r the a t re , 3 0a mong o the r pa s s ions .T h e d i s e m b o d i e d n o t i o n o f S a n s k r i t

T h e p u r s u i t o f k n o w l e d g e m a y h a v e r e v o l v e d a r o u n d t h ebody o f the guru , bu t the na tu re o f knowle dge i t s e l f wa sd ise mbodie d a nd a n t i -ma te r ia l . T he c e n t ra l no t ion e mbe dde din the idea l of the schola r was tha t of o ther-worldl iness ,ba se d on the p re m ise tha t inv o lv e m e nt in wor ld ly a f fa i r s

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d i s t r ac t s f r o m the pu r s u i t o f know ledge . Th i s inve r s er e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n k n o w l e d g e a n d e v e r y d a y c o n c e r n s w a sma de in to a cen t r a l ph i lo s o ph i c p r inc ip le wher eby the pand i twa s ce r t a in ly r ew ard ed fo r h i s l ea rn ing and g ivenrecogni t ion , bo th mater ia l and socia l , bu t a l l o f th is heaccep ted wi th ' r e l a t ive ind i f f e r e nce . R am vas h Tr ipa th i ( b.1884 ) and Har iha r k r ip a lu Dw ived i ( b . c . 1870 ) we re typ ica l o fmos t pand i t s i n tha t t hey s pen t none o f the i r ea rn ings onthems e lves , bu t on expend i tu r e l i ke the bu i ld ing o f a v i l l ages choo l o r a t emp le . 3 1 A m on g the ques t io ns we may as k a r e :how d id the Sans k r i t s cho la r s uppo r t h ims e l f , i f s oind i f f e r en t? An d , w hy s hou ld l ea rn ing and ma te r i a l s uc ces sbe s o an t i the t i ca l t o each o the r ?

R egard ing the f i r s t , Sans k r i t s cho la r s in f ac t worked .E i the r they we re d i r ec t ly s upp o r t ed a s t eache r s by thea r i s toc r acy , o r t hey were l e s s d i r ec t ly s uppo r t ed by s tuden t sth roug h i r r egu la r bu t p r ed ic t ab le g i f t s at ce r t a in t imes o f theyea r , and daks h ina a t t he end o f the cou r s e o f study . Thebes t s cho la r s were s uppo r t ed d i r ec t ly and l ibe r a l ly bywea l thy pa t rons s imp ly a s s cho la r s , a s s how p ieces in the i rcou r t s and mans ion s . Th ey had to work even a t h i s ,however , t h rough expos i t ions , compos i t ion , and s has t r a r th .H a r i h a r k r i p a l u D w i v e d i w o n t h e s h a s t r a th a a t t h e c r o w n i n go f t h e R i w a M a h a r a j V e n k a t e s h N a r a y a n S i n g h , a n d t h e n a ta B r a h m a n b o y ' s u p n a y a n a c e r e m o n y . T h e l a t te r c h a n g e dh i s l i f e : he was o f f e r ed t each ing pos i t ions and pa t ronage . 3 2Sch o la r s kep t the i r ea r s open fo r ne w s o f s has t r a r thas , andac t ive ly s ough t them ou t .

Sh ivku ma r Shas t r i ( b . 1857 ) lo s t h i s j ob a t t he Sa ns k r i tC o l l e ge and was in deb t and ve ry keen to f r ee h ims e l f . Hego t the idea o f go ing wi th s ome devo ted s tuden t s to s ome

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roya l cou r t s t o s how h i s wonder fu l l ea rn ing and wi th tha tdak shin a pay of f h is debt s . An d th is i s exact ly w hat he d id .H e w e n t t o D a r b h a n g a , w h o s e r u l e r L a k s h m i s h v a r S i n g h ,h ims e l f a l ea rn ed Sa ns k n t i s t , l i k ed to hon ou r h i s own andv i s i t i ng s cho la r s acco rd ing to the i r l ea rn ing , and to gaugeth i s l ea rn ing the bes t me thod tha t can be emp loyed i s as has t r a r th . Sh ivk um ar Shas t r i was eage r f o r a s has t r a r th .

Why d id Sans k r i t s cho la r s s hun d r avya (wea l th ) a s anidea l? Th e re was an und e r s t a nd i ng o f l ea rn in g ( s h ik s ha ) a sa search for t ru t h ( sa ty a) , and t ru th as ly ing in kn ow led ge(gyan ) , n t i n p ro s p e r i ty o r accu mu la t ion o f r i ches . Th efo rce o f kn ow led ge w as s uch tha t it d ec ide d s oc ia l s t a tu s ,inc lud ing amo ng s cho la r s . R a ja r am Shas t r i ( b . 1805 ) oncehea rd h i s ex -p up i l , now a s anya s i , expo und a ka tha and w asmuch t aken by an exp lana t ion o f a pa r t i cu la r ph ras e . On h i sdo ing p r anam ( touch ing the f ee t ) t o h i s ex -pup i l , t h e l a t t e rr emons t r a t ed , bu t Shas t r i dec la r ed , " You were my s tuden twhen you s tud ied wi th m e . N ow I am l i s t en ing to you rkatha and yo u are my guru . I ha ve the r igh t to g ive you m ypranam . P lea s e acc ep t i t ." 3 4 W h a t w a s c o m p r e h e n d e d b yone s cho la r cou ld w e l l be s om e th ing tha t had e luded ma nyo the r s , and when b rough t to the no t i ce ( even p r iva te ly , no ton ly pub l i c ly in s has t r a r th ) o f h i s co l l eagues , s ome o f whommay have had b igge r c l a ims to knowledge , i t was accep teda s a n a c h i e v e m e n t w o r t h y o f h o m a g e . T h u s B a p u d e vShas t ri (b . 1819 ) ack no w led ge d the s ix t een yea r o ld S udha ka rDwived i ' s co r r ec t ions o f h i s ma th p rob lems , andr e c o m m e n d e d h i m f o r a s c h o l a r s h ip . 3 5 S h i v k u m a r S h a s t ri( b. 1857 ) was p l eas ed a t t he in t e rp r e t a t ion o f f e r e d by h i sc o l l e a gu e U m a p a t i D w i v e d i ( b . 1 8 5 3 ) w h i c h h e h i m s e l f h a dbeen unab le to co m e up wi th . 3 6

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T h e s t a t u s o f k n o w l e d g eAll of which is not to say tha t there was any dear th of

r iva lry a nd c om pe t i t io n a mon g pa nd i t s . T ha t th i s c ou lda s sume c u t th roa t d ime ns ions i s a mply i l lus t r a te d bya ne c do te s o f the t r i c ks p la ye d by one a ga ins t a no the r tobr ing a r iva l down, t r i c ks whic h la c ke d no th ing in me a nne ss ,c rue l ty , a nd e ve n d i sh one s ty , suc h a s wh e n a p ros t i tu te wa spa id to insu l t Sh ivkuma r Sha s t r i in the midd le o f them a r k e t - p l a c e ,37 T h e sha s t r a r th wa s a fo rm a l wa y o fc ha l le ng ing a nd de fe a t ing r iva l s , a nd whi le the ma te r ia lr e wa rd wa s a n e n t ic e me nt , i t c ou ld o f te n be unde r ta ke n fo ri ts own s ake , to es tab l ish o ne 's s ta tus , an e ffo r t tha t cou ldpre posse s s a whole l i f e t ime a nd be c ome obse s s ive a s ane c e s s i ty to s c ho la r ly p re s t ig e . Suc h se e m s to ha v e be e n th ec a se w i th D a m o d a r S h a s t ri ( 1 8 4 7 - 1 9 0 9 ) . 38 T h is obse s s ionwa s e x te nde d to r iva l ry be twe e n re g io ns ; a pa nd i t o f K a sh igo in g fo r sha s t r a r th to Coc h in o r Da rbh a ng a wa s e xp e c te dto ke e p the f l a g o f Ka sh i f ly ing a nd no t a c c e p t de fe a t f romthose ou ts ide Ka sh i . 3 9

T he pursu i t o f knowle dge the n b rough t d i r e c t p re s t ige onthe be s t pur sue r wi th in a c a de mic c i r c le s ; i t a l so b rough ts ta tus in the l a rge r soc ie ty . W e ha v e no wa y o f r e c re a t ingthe a c tua l s c e na r io fo r a hundre d o r hundre d a nd f i f ty ye a r sa go , inc lud ing r i tua l s o f the p re se n ta t ion o f the s e l f ineverd ay l i fe . Fr om a l l wri t ten and ora l acc ou nts we ma y sayt h a t t h o u g h ( p r e d o m i n a n t l y B r a h m a n ) s c h o l a r s an d ( c h i e fl yK s h a t n y a ) r u l e r s w e r e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t i n t h a t t h e f o r m e rde pe nde d on the l a t t e r fo r ma te r ia l suppor t a nd the l a t t e rde pe nde d on the fo rme r fo r soc ia l l e g i t ima c y , a s f a r a s thede m ons t ra t io n o f h ie ra rc hy we nt , the s c ho la r , the pa nd i t o r

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v i d w a n , w h e t h e r B r a h m a n o r n o t , w a s a l w a y s g i v e np r e c e d e n c e . W h e r e a s t h e p a n d i t ' s d h a r m a w a s s i m p l y t h epu r s u i t o f knowledge , t he ru l e r ' s dha rma was to s uppo r t andhonou r h im. Th i s invo lved a r ange o f p r ac t i c e s f ro m theru le r ' s r i s ing to g r ee t t he t eache r , t ouch ing h i s f ee t ,ga r l an d ing h im , and add r es s ing h im as gu ru , acha ry a , o reven b hag wa n o r deva ; t o inv i t ing h im s pec ia l ly oni m p o r t a n t o c c a s i o n s , s e a t i n g h i m s y m b o l i c a l l y h i g h , g i v i n gh im g i f t s , and o the rw is e ens u r ing h i s phys ica l p r e s enc e nea rh ims e l f ( the ru l e r ) . Such ma rks o f r e s pec t did no t c om eau tom at i ca l ly wi th a Sans k r i t t eache r ' s p ro f e s s ion . Th os ew h o w e r e u n d e r s t o o d a s m o r e l e a r n e d e a r n e d m o r e r e s p e c t ,a n d t h o s e a r i s t o c r a t s w h o c o m p r e h e n d e d a n d v a l u e d l e a r n i n gbe t t e r t han o th e r s cou ld be t t e r o f f e r t h i s r e s pec t . Th em a h a r a j a s o f B a n a r a s , K a s h m i r , D a r b h a n g a , a m o n g o t h e r s ,were ou t s t an d in g in thus fu l f i l l i n g the i r dh a rm a . 4 0

Since the qua l i ty o f l ea rn ing and the pe r s p icac i ty o fa n o b l e m a n ' s j u d g e m e n t b o r d e r e d o n s u b j e c t i v e m a t t e r s , t h e r ecou ld be occa s iona l t en s ion . S im i l a r ly , i f a pan d i t o r a r a j awas a t r i f l e ho t hea ded , e i the r cou ld imp i nge on the b ou ndso f a c lo s e ly nego t i a t ed ag ree me n t o f mu tua l r e s pe c t t ha tt i lt ed theo re t i ca l ly tow ard s s upe r io r i ty o f the t eache r . Suchtens ions ind ica te tha t h i s to r i ca l ly the r e had been manychanges in the r e l a t ions h ip , and tha t t he s y s t em had aninbu i l t f l ex ib i l i t y , bu t t ha t t he ve ry bes t o f Sans k r i t pand i t scould reach to the top of the socia l h ierarchy .

R es pec t s uch a s tha t g iven to ve ry excep t iona l pand i t swas g iven fo r the mas te ry o f a ce r t a in b r anc h o f kn ow led ge ,no t f o r the rou t in e o f t each ing . B u t a l l t he bes t pan d i t s we n tth rough the s ame s ys t em and no o the r , and a l l i n the s y s t emcould potent ia l ly asp ire to i t , so i t te l l s us about one k ind of

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l imi t of the sys tem, and that a t th is ou ter l imi t , i t could car rya scholar to the very top of the socia l h ierarchy .

Anecdo tes o f s uch s cho la r s , aga in , abound in l i t e r a tu r e ,s t a r t ing wi th the R a m ay an a and the M aha bha ra ta . I n 19 thcen tu ry B ana ras we have the t a l e o f the R a ja o f Kas hmi rR a n b i r S i n g h a n d P a n d i t S h i v k u m a r S h a s t r i ( 1 8 5 7 - 1 9 1 8 ) .The fo rmer had o rgan i s ed a s abha o f pand i t s t o wh ich thela t t e r a r r ived in a pa lan qu in . As he was abou t to a l igh t t hef o l l o w i n g w o r d s e s c a p e d t h e R a j a ' s l i p s : " T h i s p l a c e w a s n o ts o f a r . Shas t r i j i cou ld we l l hav e wa lked . Pa lan qu i n s a r eapp ro p r i a t e f o r R a ja s and M ahara ja s . . . . " As thes e ha r s hwords r eached the Shas t r i ' s ea r s , he changed h i s mind andr e t u r n e d h o m e . T h e M a h a r a j a w a s e x t r e m e l y r e p e n t e n t b u the lp le s s . At Sh ivk um ar Shas t r i ' s dep a r tu r e al l t he s cho la r sa ro s e and l e f t , s ay in g " H ow can the r e be a l ea rn ed a s s em b ly

w i t h o u t S h a s t r i j i ? " T h e M a h a r a j a h a d to b e g f o r g i v e n e s s t h enex t day , and even a s s en t to s ome tough cond i t ions be fo reS h i v k u m a r r e l e n t e d . 4 1

This s am e Sh iv kum ar had r each ed s uch a s t a tu s tha t hewa s w or s h ipp ed a s a de i ty . Ou t s ide h i s ho m e in C hau k ama l i ( ga rdne r and f lower s e l l e r ) s t a t ioned h ims e l f andeve ryo ne wh o v i s i t ed h im f e l t ob l ig a ted to buy a ga r l and o rf low er s to p r e s e n t to h im as to a de i ty . An o th e r pand i t ,Um apa t i Dw ive d i ( b . 1853 ) , ac t ing l ike an inca r na t io n o f thes age V as h i s h tha , c ons id e r ed h im s e l f t he p r i e s t o f t h e j a im anR a m a . F a r f r o m t r e a t i n g R a m a a s a g o d , h e w o u l d r e g ul a rl yg ive h im h i s b l e s s ings fo r a long and happy l i f e . 4 2 Withs uch inca rna t ions and god ly be ings obv ious ly no mere lyw o r l d l y a c h i e v e m e n t s c o u l d c o m p e t e . T h e c l o s e s t i n t h en a t u r e o f c o m p e t i t i o n a r o s e w h e n a p r i n c e a l s o b e c o m e s as cho la r and pe rha ps a ve ry go od on e , bu t t h i s o f cou r s e wen t

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hand in hand with an increased love of schola rship, tha t is ,the de s ir e to ho no ur o the r a nd e ve n g re a te r Sa ns kr i tschola rs . In any case , i t is unl ike ly tha t there was any opens t r i f e o r d i sp la y o f the inna te Bra hm a n-K sha t r iyac ompe t i t ive ne s s . I t wa s t a c k le d by the s imple s t r a te gy o fe a c h s ide e mpha s iz ing the i r own s t r e ng th whi le ma king av i r tue o f fo rb e a ra n c e in wh a t the y la c ke d . T hu s , pa nd i t swere not only not inte res ted in money, they made i t in tosuc h a na tu ral s t a te m e n t - th e ve ry spa r sh . touc h , o f d ra v ya .mone y , i s unc le a n tha t the re ha s be e n no que s t ion ing o ra r t i c u la t ion o f why e xa c t ly mone y i s so ba d (whe re a s i t r a te sh ighe s t in ma ny a n th ropo log ic a l r a nk ing sys te ms a s at r a nsa c t ive me dium " ) a nd w ha t m igh t ha ppe n i f i t wa s to gotoge ther with vidya .The Sanskr i t Co l l ege

T he th re a t to the Sa nskr i t sys te m e mbodie d in the Be na re sSa nskr i t Co l le ge , e s ta b l i she d in 1791 , we n t unre c ogn ise d fo rma ny de c a de s . I t s tw ofo ld purpos e wa s , in the wo rds o f theRe s ide n t Jona tha n Dunc a n , tha t o f "e nde a r ing ourGove rnme nt to the Na t ive Hindoos . . . fo r . . . no pub l icIns t i tu t ion o f the k ind he re p ropose d e ve r a ppe a r s to ha vee x is te d" a nd the be t te r know n on e o f "p rov ing a nur se ry o ffu tu r e doc to r s a nd e xpo un de r s [o f the Hin do o L a w ] to a s s i s tthe E urope a n judge s . " 4 4 F ro m 1791 it we n t th rou gh a s e r ie sof c ha nge s in nome nc la tu re a nd s ta tus tha t a re ind ic a t ive o fits history.

I t wa s founde d a s the Ka sh i Ra jk iya Sa nskr i t Pa thsha la .T h e R e s i d e n t J o n a t h a n D u n c a n p e r s u a d e d t h e M a h a r a j aMa hipna ra ya n S ingh to dona te the mone y a nd la nd fo r a

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s c h o o l . I n t h i s s c h o o l V e d a s , P h i l o s o p h y , a n d S h a s t r a s w e r et a u g h t , b u t t h e w e i g h t o f g o v e r n m e n t i n t e r e s t w a s o nD h a r m a s h a s t r a s f r o m t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g , n e e d i n g a s t h e yd i d ex p e r t s to h e l p t h e i r j u d g es i n t h e d i s p en s a t i o n o f" H i n d o o l a w " . R a j a r a m S h a s t r i ( 1 8 0 5 - 1 8 7 5 ) , t h e m o s tr e s p e c t e d s c h o l a r o f K a s h i , w a s a p p o i n t e d a s j u d g e ,A z a m g a r h D i s t r i c t, b e c a u s e o f h i s k n o w l e d g e o f t h eD h a r m a s h a s t r a s . F o r d e c a d e s t h e c o l l e g e ra n a l o n g' i n d i g en o u s ' l i n e s i n t h e s en s e t h a t i t w as v i ew ed b y B r i t i s hv i s i t o r s a s ch a rac t e r i s ed b y " a w an t o f s y s t em , ac a r e l e s s n e s s , s l o v e n l i n e s s , a n d i n d i f f e r e n c e , " c o n t i n u i n g ' t h et e a c h i n g o f " a n t i - N e w t o n i a n " s c i e n c e s a n d f u l l o f o t h e ra b u s e s th a t s e e m e d t o d e f e a t t h e p u r p o s e o f G o v e r n m e n t a i dto i t .4 5

In 1 8 4 3 it w a s d ec i d e d t h a t B r i t i s h p r i n c i p a l s s h o u l d b ea p p o i n t e d w h o w o u l d b e e x p e r t s b o t h i n S a n s k r i t a n d i nWes t e rn l i t e r a t u re an d s c i en ce s o t h a t t h e co l l eg e co u l de x p a n d t o i n c l u d e m o r e t h a n t h e I n d i a n c l a s s i c s . T h e a g e n d ao f t h e g o v e r n m e n t i s m a d e a m p l y c l e a r b y t h e s t a t e m e n tm a d e o n t h e o c c a s i o n . S t u d e n t s o f t h e B a n a r a s C o l l e g e , asi t w as n o w ca l l ed , w ere ad d res s ed b y t h e f i r s t B r i t i s hp r i n c i p a l , J . M u i r , o n F e b r u a r y 1 0 , 1 8 45 . H e e x h o r t e d t h e mf i r s t t o r ea l i ze t h e w e a l t h o f Sa n s k r i t l e a rn i n g " d i s t i n g u i s h edi n t h e s e v e r a l b r a n c h e s o f k n o w l e d g e . " N a m e s o f v e n e r a b l es c h o l a r s w e r e c i t e d " t o p r o v e t h e n a t i v e g e n i u s a n di n d e p e n d e n t c i v i li s a t io n o f y o u r c o u n t r y m e n i n t h e m o s ta n c i e n t t i m e s , w h e n m o s t c o u n t r i e s w h i c h a r e n o w t h ef o r e m o s t in E u r o p e w e r e s ti ll p e o p l e d b y b a r b a r o u s t r i b e s" .4 6M u i r ap p ea l ed t o t h e s t u d en t s ' l o v e o f t h e i r co u n t ry t os t i m u l a t e t h e m t o g r e a t e r e x e r t i o n s . H e d e s i r e d t h a t t h e i rs t u d i e s s h o u l d p a r t i c u l a r l y t a k e t h e f o l l o w i n g t w o d i r e c t i o n s :

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( l ) Eng l i s h " a s the bes t means o f ex tend ing you rknowledge" , and gene ra l and s c i en t i f i c knowledge ; and ( i i )the i r " mora l im pro vem en t " , t he " love o f good nes s , o f t r u th ,in t eg r i ty , j u s t i ce , pu r i ty , and p ie ty . " " True wis dom canno tex i s t apa r t f r om goodnes s . . . .None o f you can be unaware o fthe co r rup t p r inc ip le s . . .wh ich s way the s oc ie ty a round youo f wh ich you a r e s o s oon to bec om e ac t ive mem ber s . Le tme en t r ea t you , t hen , t o p ropo s e to you r s e lve s a nob le rca r ee r than tha t wh ic h the ma jo r i ty o f you r co un t ry me nm47pursue . . . .

Mu i r was p r inc ipa l f o r on ly one yea r and unde r h im thetwo b ranch es , Eng l i s h and Sans k r i t , we re am a lgam ated . Th ein s t i tu tion w h ich had been run by B ra hm ans a lon g the i r ownideas fo r a f e w yea r s wa s g iven an ove rh au l in g by Mui r andthe Eu ro pean s ec r e t a r i e s to co l l ege com mi t t ee s . Hi ss ucces s o r D r B a l l an ty ne , i n o f f i ce f ro m 1846 to 1861 ," avowed a s h i s ob jec t t he fo rma t ion o f a c l a s s o f Pund i t s ,who, sk i l led in a l l tha t i s taught in nat ive schools , shoulda l s o have the i r minds s o t inc tu r ed wi th Eu ropean hab i t s o ff ee l ing , a s to be p r e - em ine n t amo ngs t t he i r coun t ryme n . I no rde r to accompl i s h th i s ob jec t he f i r s t h ims e l f mas te r ed theHindu ph i lo s ophy , and he a s ce r t a ined how much o f t r u ththe r e wa s in i t, and wh er e e r ro r comm enc ed . He , at t hes ame t ime , made ava i l ab le to h i s Pund i t pup i l s t he works o fEu rop ean p h i lo s op he r s , an d s how ed , by t r ea t i s e s o f h i s ow nc o m p o s i t i o n , h o w a d v a n c i n g f r o m t h e p r e m i s e s o f H i n d uph i lo s o phy , the co r r ec t con c lu s ion s o f Eu rope an ph i lo s ophymig ht be a t ta ined . In fo l lo w in g th is cou rse , he ac ted incons onan ce wi th the w ho le cha rac te r o f ou r admin i s t r a t ionin th is coun try . W e ha ve not sw ept the cou ntry l ike ato r r en t . . . .Ou r cou r s e has r a the r b een tha t o f a gen t ly s we l l ing

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i n u n d a t i o n , w h i c h l e a v e s t h e f o r m e r s u r f a c e u n d i s t u r b e d , a n ds p r e a d s o v e r i t a r i c h e r m o u l d , f r o m w h i c h t h e v e g e t a t i o nm a y d e r i v e a n e w v e r d u r e , a n d t h e l a n d s c a p e p o s s e s s ab e a u t y w h i c h w a s u n k n o w n b e f o r e " . 4 8

J a m e s T h o m a s o n , L t . G o v e r n o r o f t h e N . W . P r o v i n c e s , a tt h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e n e w b u i l d i n g o f t h e B a n a r a s C o l l e g e ,r e f e r r ed t o a t r i p t o Sa rn a t h , f r o m w h i ch w as c l ea r t h a t o n es y s t e m B u d d h i s m w a s b u r i e d a n d f o r g o t t e n , a n da n o t h e r H i n d u i s m p r e v a i l e d , " s t il l v i g o r o u s , b u t a l r e a d y o ni t s w an e . A n d t h a t s y s t em m ay p as s aw ay , an d g i v e p l ac et o a n o t h e r a n d a b e t t e r o n e . F r o m t h i s p l a c e [ B a n a r a sC o l l e g e ] m a y t h i s s y s t e m s p r e a d t h r o u g h o u t ; n o r i s i t v a int o h o p e t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g in w h i c h w e a r e a s s e m b l e d m a y b eo n e i n s t r u m en t i n t h e m i g h t y ch an g e . W h e n it i s s o , t h eh i g h e s t a s p i r a t i o n s o f t h o s e w h o f i r s t d e s i g n e d a n d m a i n l yp ro m o t ed i t s e r ec t i o n w i l l b e fu l l y r ea l i s ed . " 4 9 J a m e sT h o m a s o n e x h o r t e d h i s a u d i e n c e p a r t ic u l a r l y t o r e m e m b e r" t h e i n f l u e n c e e x e r c i s e d o n t h e m i n d s o f p e r s o n s i n o u r o w nc o u n t r y b y t h e b u i l d i n g i n w h i c h o u r C o l l e g e s a n d S c h o o l sa r e p l a c e d . " 5 0

T h i s S a n s k r i t C o l l e g e w a s a k e y a g e n t i n t h e p r o c e s s o fch an g e v i s u a l i s e d b y t h e B r i t i s h . San s k r i t h a s t o b eu n d e r s t o o d i n m a n y w a y s , l i te r a l l y as a l a n g u a g e , a n dm e t a p h o r i c a l l y a s a l a n g u a g e , t h a t i s a c o d e , a d i s c o u r s e , acu l t u r a l s y s t em , t h a t i s b o t h r e f l ec t i v e o f a s o c i a l s t ru c t u r ean d an i d eo l o g y . T h e San s k r i t co l l eg e i n i t i a t ed ch an g e i n a l lt h e s e a r e a s . I n t h e l a n g u a g e , b y " i m p r o v i n g " t h e m e t h o d s o fs c h o l a r s h i p , i n t r o d u c i n g h i s t o r i c a l - c r i t i c a l m e t h o d s , u s i n gW e s t e r n t r e a t i s e s a s m o d e l s , a n d c a r e f u l l y d i r e c t i n g t h es t u d i e s t h r o u g h E u r o p e a n p r o f e s s o r s . 5 1 In the soc ia ls t r u c t u r e , b y r e n d e r i n g u s e l e s s b o t h t h e p r a c t i c e o f p a t r o n a g e

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an d t h e t en s e i d e o l o g y o f eq u a l i t y a t t h e t o p b e t w eenp an d i t an d p a t r o n . I t w as t h i s t en s i o n th a t w a s r em o v ed b yt h e B r i t i s h . T h ey w ere t h e n ew u p p e r ca s t e s a s w e l l a s t h eu p p e r c l a s s , t h e t o p o f t h e h i e r a r ch y b ey o n d d i s p u t e , an de v e r y o n e w a s t h e i r b e n e f i c i a r y o r s u b o r d i n a t e . P a n d i t s d i dn o t h a v e t o c o m p e t e f o r h i g h e r p l a c e s b e c a u s e t h e y c o u l d a l lh av e a j o b i f t h ey q u a l i f i ed . T h e a r i s t o c rac y d i d n o t h a v e t ow o r r y a b o u t e i t h e r p a t r o n i s i n g p a n d i t s , o r b e i n g l e g i t i m i z e db y t h em , o r t h e p ro p e r ed u ca t i o n o f t h e i r o w n ch i l d r en . A l lt h e s e t a s k s w e r e t a k e n o v e r b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t .

Similarly, the teaching within the Sanskri t Col lege, seeminglycont inuous wi th the o lder t each ing , was respons ib le fort ransforming the discourse of Sanskri t by a s imple s t rategy. Allthe ri tuals of the older system, those regarding t ime, space, thebody, food, work, hierarchy, and so on, were wrenched from theirposi t ions and were t reated as superficial . They could be retainedor discarded at random, were in almost al l cases clearly inconfl ict with a more rat ional and efficient system, and were atany rate pl iable, not immutable. The teacher was an employee.His exclus iveness , mys tery , and cen t ra l i ty was gone forever .T h e p a n d i t s f l o u n d e r i n g d is c o u r s e

I f w e l o o k a t t h e w r i t t en an d o ra l r eco rd s o f t h eSan s k r i t i s t s o f B a n a ras , w e f i n d t h a t t h ey h av e ev e n t o d a ya co l l e c t i v e m em o r y o f a t h r ea t i n m i d n i n e t een t h cen t u ryw h e n g o v e r n m e n t w a n t e d to a n g l i c i z e t h e m a n d C h r i s t i a n i s et h e m . T h e i r a r g u m e n t s o u n d s o v e r l y o r i e n t e d t o ac o n s p i r a c y t h e o r y : th a t e v e r y t h i n g t h e B r i t i s h g o v e r n m e n td i d , f r o m i n t r o d u c i n g E n g l i s h t o c o n s t r u c t i n g a n e w c a m p u sw a s f o r t h e h i d d e n p u r p o s e o f e c o n o m i c e x p l o i t a t i o n a n d

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p o l i t ica l p o w er , w i t h w h i ch w en t an a l l -o u t e f fo r t t o w e ak e ni n d i g en o u s cu l t u r e i n a l l i t s d i m en s i o n s an d r ep l ace i t w i t hW e s t e r n v a l u e s . T h e c u r r i c u l u m i n t r o d u c e d b y t h e B r i t is hi s s p ec i f i ca l l y r eg a rd e d b y t h e m as " n o t r ed u c i b l e s i m p l y t oan ex p res s i o n o f cu l t u r a l p o w er ; r a t h e r , i t s e rv ed t o co n fe rp o w er , " an a t t i t u d e t h a t i n d i ca t e s t h e i r h i g h ev a l u a t i o n o ft h e p o w e r o f t h e c u r r i c u l u m .

I f t h e re w as a co n s p i r acy , t h a t w as s u re l y w i t h i n t h e ru l e so f w a r . W h e n t h e S a n s k r i t C o l l e g e r e q u i r e d r e g u l a r s e r v i c ean d p a i d s a l a r i e s fo r i t , t h e r ec ru i t m en t o f t h e f i r s t p an d i t sm a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a p r o c e s s o f c h a n g e t h a t i s o f t e nc i t ed a s t h e cen t r a l ch a ra c t e r i s t i c i n t h e f a l l o f San s k r i ted u ca t i o n in p a r t i c u l a r , an d ed u ca t i o n i n g en e ra l . I n t h ee a r l y a n d m i d d l e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e r e m u s t h a v e b e e n a na c t u a l t e n s i o n e x p e r i e n c e d b y S a n s k r i t i s t s i n B a n a r a sr e g a r d i n g w h e t h e r t o m a k e t h i s c o m p r o m i s e o f s e r v i n g af o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t f o r a s a l a r y i n an i n s t it u t i o n o t h e r w i s er e g a r d e d a s p e r h a p s a b o o n f o r S a n s k r i t l e a r n i n g , o r w h e t h e rt o r e s i s t i t s o v e r t u re s . T h e t en s i o n m ay h a v e l a s t ed fo rm a n y d e c a d e s , p e r h a p s u n t i l a b o u t 1 9 0 0 . A s o n ec o n t e m p o r a r y p r o f e s s o r d e s c r i b e s t h e p r o c e s s , " H u g e s a l a r ie sw e r e o f f e r e d i n 1 7 9 1 . T w o h u n d r e d r u p e e s t o t h e h e a dp a n d i t , o n e h u n d r e d r u p e e s t o t h e o t h e r s , t e n r u p e e s s t i p e n dfo r s t u d en t s , a ll a t a t i m e w h en f o u r ru p ee s a m o n t h w a se n o u g h t o l i v e o n . N o o n e c a m e N o o n e c a m e t o s el lv i d y a . B u t s l o w l y , a s t h e n e t w as t h r o w n ag a i n an d ag a i nw i d e r , a n d w i d e r , s o m e w e r e c a u g h t . S o m e st a r te dco m i n g . " O n e m i g h t f ee l t h a t i t w as p a r t l y a m a t t e r o fs e m a n t i c s , o r a t l e a s t o f f o r m . W h a t e x a c t l y w a s " s e r v i c e " ?W h a t a f o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t w a s , w a s c l e a re r . G a n g a d h a rS h a s t r i T e l a n g w a s i n v i t e d t o a m e e t i n g w i t h L o r d C u r z o n

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in 1903 on another subject , and to upset h im, the Viceroyth r ew to h im the ques t ion , " Why does t e l ang accep t a s a l a ryf rom an un -A ryan go ve r nm en t w h ich i s aga in s t s ana tandha rm a?" Te la ng ' s we l l wro ugh t r ep ly was : " The nam e o fmy in s t i tu t ion i s Kas h i r a jk iya Pa th s ha la , t ha t i s no t t o s ay ,the R a jk iya o r Governmen t Pa th s ha la in Kas h i bu t r a the r thePa th s ha la o f the Ka s h i R a j . Do es no t the B r it i s hG o v e r n m e n t k n o w t h a t an I n d i a n H i n d u , in fa c t B r a h m a n ,R a ja has g iven a s pec ia l pa rga na o f Mi r za pu r a s dona t ion tothe school and even the land on which the school bui ld ings tands ? Th e B r i t i sh Gov ern me n t on ly ma nag es it ; i t h a s noo the r r e s pons ib i l i t y . I t b e lo ngs to the Ka s h i R a ja , no t t heGo ver nm en t o f I nd ia . An d I t ake s a l a ry f rom as a n a t a n d h a r m i M a h a r a j a , n o t a n o n - H i n d u r u l er . " D r V e n i sand Lo rd C urzon were bo th appa ren t ly impres s ed by th i srep ly in to s i lence . M

As an idea l al l t he pand i t s wo u ld p ro bab ly f i r s t hav e c i t edt h e a p h o r i s m o f K a l i d a s , " T h o s e w h o a c q u i r e k n o w l e d g e o fthe s has t r a s on ly to ea rn money des e rve the name o f" van ik s " ( t r ade r s ) " . Th i s , a s d i s cus s ed ea r l i e r , wa s on ly anidea l , bec aus e excep t f o r thos e f e w wh o had inhe r i t edindependen t means , o the r s were a l l s uppo r t ed by pa t rons ,and thes e pa t rons were a s l i ab le to r eques t s pec i f i c t each ingo r pe r fo rmance s e rv ices a s no t . The pand i t s i n tu rn wereobl ig ed to earn thei r l iv in g , a l th oug h i t could never beexp res s ed l ike tha t . So wh i l e the idea o f a C o l l e ge wa snew, the idea o f t each ing and pa t ronage was no t o f cou r s e .W he n the B r i t i s h o f f e r e d the i r a l t e rna te f o r m o f pa t ron age ,the r e was a l r eady we l l e s t ab l i s hed bo th the idea l andp rac t i ce o f w ork ing fo r s tuden t s and educa t ion th rou gh theme d ium o f a f on d pa t ro n ' s gene ros i ty . Th e d i f f i cu l ty o f

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a c c e p t i n g m o n e y c o u l d b e o v e r l o o k e d w i t h t h e a r g u m e n t o fthe pa t ron ' s s o le in t e r e s t ( and the t eache r ' s , i t goes wi thou ts ay ing ) ly ing in the p ropaga t ion o f Sans k r i t .

Th e f ir s t o f t he h i s to r iog ra ph ic a l p r ob lem s in des c r ib ingthe pand i t s ' a t t i t udes towards the co lon ia l moves mus t be -con f ron ted he r e . B ecaus e we s peak o f " the Pand i t s " , we f a l li n to the f a l l acy o f be l i ev ing tha t t he r e in f ac t was one c l a s scate gor y , or ident i ty l ik e a "pan di t" . In fac t , l ike any o th erc a s t e o r g r o u p i n g t h e y w e r e n o t h o m o g e n e o u s i n t h e i rac t ions and r eac t ions . W hi l e s o m e we re d r a wn ou t o f the i r" ho le s " , o the r s were con ten t t o s t ay in . 5 5 The B r i t i s hg o v e r n m e n t o c c u p i e d a n a m b i g u o u s p o s i t i o n . T h o s e w h ocoop era ted w i th it co nv inc ed th em s e lv es tha t i t s i n t e r e s t i nS a n s k r i t a n d e d u c a t i o n o v e r c a m e o t h e r c h a r a c t e r is t i c s.T h o s e w h o r e m a i n e d i n d i f f e r e n t t o i tm a i n t a i n e d p r e s u m a b l y t h a t w h a t w a s m o s t s i g n i f i c a n tabou t the B r i t i s h was tha t t hey were mlechha . wh ich means ,r e l evan t ly fo r u s , no t on ly un tou cha b le an d fo r e ign e r , bu to n e w h o c a n n o t p r o n o u n c e S a n s k r i t . T h e n u m b e r s o f t h e s eind i f f e r en t pand i t s i s d i f f i cu l t t o ga ug e be cau s e they l e f t nos uch r eco rds s uch a s thos e p r e s e rved o f the Sans k r i t C o l l egepand i t s , bu t popu la r op in io n has i t t h a t t he nu m be r was ve rylarge .

In f ac t , t h e he t e ro ge neo us ca t e go ry o f " pan d i t " r eac ted inmany ways to the th r ea t o f , and ac tua l i ty o f , cu l tu r a lv io le nce a t t he han ds o f the B r i t i s h . Th e re w e r e s o m e w h o" co -ope ra t e d" , t each in g in the San s k r i t C o l l eg e a t t he f ir sto f f e r , a c c e p t i n g g o v e r n m e n t t i t l e s s u c h asM a h a m a h o p a d h y a y a , o f f i c i a t i n g a t o f f i c i a l f u n c t i o n s , a ndtak ing up pos i t ions ou t s id e . Th e re we re thos e wh o werea l s o co -op ted bu t a f t e r an in i t i a l r e s i s t ance , o r who , wh i l e

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s e rv ing the B r i t i s h , r ema ined s cep t i ca l o f t he i r own s e l l - ou t .The vas t ma jo r i ty were thos e v i ewed by the B r i t i s h ,inc lu d ing by An n ie B es an t , a s " pas s ive" . W hen B es an t l a idthe foun da t ion s fo r he r Hin du S choo l a t t he end o f then ine teen th cen tu ry , s he compla ined tha t he r inv i t a t ion to theSanskr i t pandi ts to ass is t her in the great pro jec t of ther e juv ena t ion o f the Hin du na t ion was me t by u t t e ri n d i f f e r e n c e a n d d is r e g a rd . T h i s p a r t

the modernization of sanskrit education

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