3- Taxila as a Seat of Learning in the Pali Literature 



Bv Bimala Charan Law, B.A. 



Taxila has been frequently referred to in the Pali Litera- 

 ture as a centre of learning in Ancient India. Pupils from 

 different parts of India used to visit the place for learning 



various arts and sciences. According to Dhammapadatthaka- 

 tha, Pasenadi, the king of Kosala, was educated at Taxila. 1 

 Jlvaka, the renowned physician at the court of King Bimbisara 

 was educated in medicine and surgery here. 2 Princes from 

 various kingdoms used to be sent to this place for their edu- 

 cation. 3 In one place* there is a reference to a young man of 

 the Lalha country going to Taxila for education. Lalha is the 

 Pali form of Radha. As to its identification I agree with Mr. 

 Nandalal Dey who in his ■ Notes on the History of the district 

 of Hugh or the Ancient Radha 5 (J.A.S.B. New Series, Vol. 

 VI, 1910, p. 604) writes: fl It should be borne in mind that 

 the princess Suppadevi was carried away by a lion at Lalha 

 while she was proceeding from Vanga to Magadha (Modern 

 Behar), and therefore Lalha must have been situated between 

 Vanga and Magadha and not in Kalinga. The identification of 

 Lala or Lata, the native country of Vijaya with Guzerat by 

 some writers cannot be at all correct." In several places in 

 the Pali Jatakas, 5 there are references to highly renowned 

 teachers living at Taxila and various subjects that were taught 

 there. In one of the Jatakas, a very beautiful picture of the 

 student life of those days has been drawn (Jataka, Vol. II, 

 p. 277). A son of the King of Benares went to learn arts at 

 Taxila from a renowned teacher. He carried with him 1,000 

 gold coins as the teacher's fee. In those days, there were two 

 classes of pupils — (i) those who used to pay for their educa- 

 tion, (ii) those who served their teacher during the day-time in 

 lieu of payment and received instructions during the night. 

 The paying pupils used to live in the house of their teacher 

 like his eldest son. Corporal punishments for offences were not 

 unknown in those days as there is reference to a prince being 

 beaten by his preceptor for an offence. From the Cittasam- 

 bhuta Jataka, 6 it appears that the instructions were given to 

 the higher classes only, namely, to the Brahmins and Kshat- 



I P.T.S. edition, p. 211. 



* Mahavagga (Vinava Pitaka edited by Dr. Oldenberg), VIII. 3. 



5 Jatakas, Vol. 1. p. 259 ; Vol. V, pp. 161, 210, 457. 



♦ Ibid., Vol. I, p. 447. 



6 Ibid.. Vol. VI, p. 347; Vol. I, pp. 402, 463, 317. 

 « Ibid.. Vol. IV, p. 391. 



C 



