Tag: Education

Lord Rama’s son ,Lava built Lahore now in Pakistan.

Taxila, called as Takshashila in Sanskrit and Takashila was built by Bharata, brother of Lord Rama , for his son Taksha.

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Legend has it that Takṣaśilā derived its name from Takṣa, who was the son of Bharata, the brother of the Hindu deity Rama. Takṣa’s kingdom was called Takṣa Khanda and its capital that he founded was named Takṣaśilā.

*According to another theory propounded by DD Kosambi, Takṣaśilā is related to Takṣaka, Sanskrit for “carpenter”, and is an alternative name for the Nāgas of ancient India. In the great Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Kuru heir Parikṣit (grandson of the Arjuna) was enthroned at Takṣaśilā. Traditionally, it is believed that the Mahabharata was first recited at Takṣaśilā by Vaishampayana, student ofVyasa at the behest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the Snake Sacrifice.

* There is no supportive evidence for this.

In “Lalitha Vistara,” we are told of the formation of such institutions for teaching the three R’s and moral stories to the young. Further, a very remarkable achievement of ancient India in the post-Vedic and Buddhist ages was the organisation of higher education in a few of the prominent centres of India. The earliest and the most famous institutions of the kind were those of Benares and Taxila, which were the educational havens for people from all parts of the world, right down at least from the Buddhist age. The one place which acquired a great reputation not only for its mastery over a special branch of knowledge, medicine, but also for its general ideal instruction, perfect discipline and homely training was the University of Taxila…

In the Ramayana, (Vangavasi Edition-Uttarakandam-Chapter XIV) Bharata, Sri Rama’s brother, is said to have built two cities, Takkhasila and Puskalavata, and appointed his sons, Takkha and Puskala, to be their rulers respectively. The cities were described as very prosperous in as much as their citizens were pious and prosperous. There is another reference in the same Uttarakanda of Ramayana that Takkhasila was a centre of learning and that people from different parts of the country resorted to the Institution of Education there to specialise in Law (Vyavahara). The 88th Chapter of Vayupurana refers to Takkhasila, the capital of Takka, a beautiful city.

‘Brihatsamhita’ mentions Takkhasila as a most famous city, implying thereby that it was doubtless a centre of ancient education and culture. Further, in Mahabharata, it is recorded that the King Janamejaya conquered it. It also declares the men Taxila to be matchless and unrivalled in discussions and debates in educational and cultural learning. Lastly, Ksemendra’s ‘Aradanakalpalata’ says that Asoka’s son, Kunala, was sent by Asoka to conquer Takkhasila, which was ruled by Kunjarakarna.

Taxila has been referred to, often, in Pali literature as well, a great centre of learning and as an important University centre in ancient India. According to Dhammapadattahakatha, Pasenadi, King of Kosala, was educated at the University of Taxila. From the Mahavagga, (Vinaya Pitaka), we learn that several princes from various kingdoms, within and without India, went to the University of Taxila for their complete education.

Dhammapadadattahakatha speaks of a student who went to Taxila, all the way from Benares, to study the ‘Silpas’, in the midst of five hundred class-mates. In several places, in the Pali Jatakas, there are references to highly renowned teachers living at Taxila and to the various subjects taught there.
The foreign writers of Greece, Rome and China have left Lind valuable records of accounts of Taxila. Arrian refers it as having been a great and flourishing city in the times Alexander. Strabo comments upon its population. Plutarch dwells upon its fertile soil. Hiuentsang writes of its rich harvests and luxuriant vegetation. There are other foreign Buddhist works which refer to the various arts and sciences, imparted at the University of Taxila, in the Buddhist age.