Takshila (Takshashila in Sanskrit) is the oldest university in the world. Takshashila University was established sometime around the 8th Century B.C. in the Gandhar Mahajanapada. It is located in the Rawalpindi District of the Punjab province in Pakistan. It is said Taksha, an ancient king who ruled a kingdom called Taksha Khanda, the modern Tashkent founded the city of Takshashila. However in Sanskrit Takshashila, appears to contain the suffix shila, stone with the prefix Taksha, referring to Taksha, the son of Bharata and Mandavi, as described in the Ramayana. The city dates back to the Gandhara period and contains the ruins of the Gandharan city of Takshashila which was an important Hindu and Buddhist center, and is still considered a place of religious and historical sanctity in those traditions. In 1980, Takshila was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site with multiple locations.
The site initially began to develop as a loosely connected group of buildings where learned persons resided, worked and taught. Over the years, additional buildings were added. Gradually a large campus developed with the donation of rulers and migration of more scholars. There were around 10,500 students. Not only Indians but also students from Babylonia, Greece, Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia and China came to study here. The curriculum consists of 68 elective courses and and the minimum entrance age was 16. Entrance to the university was a difficult process. Two out of three applications gets rejected for admission. Students were supposed to pay for their expenses. However, if a student was unable to pay then he could work for his teacher. There was a special academy for the princes, which had on its rolls 101 scholars. Another center of royal scions was the institute of military science, whose strength was 103 princes and at one time rose to 500. Besides these institutions, there were many other colleges, where instruction in archery, hunting, elephant-lore, political economy, law and other arts, humanities and sciences was imparted to students of high rank and caliber.
Each teacher formed his own institution, enjoying complete autonomy in work, teaching as many students as he liked and teaching subjects he liked without confirming to any specific centralized syllabus. Study terminated when the teacher was satisfied with the student's level of achievement. The teachers were exempted from the payment of taxes. They were given ample amounts of money on the the occasion of various sacrifices and rituals as well.
A wide range of subjects were taught by experienced teachers: Vedas, Language, Grammar, Philosophy, Medicine, Surgery, Archery, Politics, Warfare, Astronomy, Astrology, Accounts, Commerce, Futurology, Documentation, Occult, Music, Dance etc. Students from Magadha traveled the vast distances of northern India in order to join the schools and colleges of Takshashila. From Pali texts, it is evidence of the Brahmana youths, Khattriya princes and sons of Setthis from Rajagriha, Kashi, Kosala and other places went to Takshashila for learning the Vedas and eighteen sciences and arts. The panel of teachers included renowned names like Kautilya (the author of the “Arthashastra”), Panini (the codifier of Sanskrit into today’s form), Jivak (medicine specialist) and Vishnu Sharma (author and compiler of the Panchtantra).
When Alexander’s armies came to the Punjab in the fourth century B.C., Takshashila had already developed a reputation as an important center of learning. Thus on his return, Alexander took many scholars from there with him to Greece. Being near the north-west frontier of India, Takshashila had to face the attacks and invasions from the north and the west. Thus the Persians, Greeks, Parthians, Shakas and Kushanas laid their destructive marks on this institution. However, the final blow came from the Huns in 450 A.D., who razed the institution. When the Chinese traveler Huen T’sang (A.D. 603-64) visited Takshashila, the town had lost all its former grandeur and international character.
The site initially began to develop as a loosely connected group of buildings where learned persons resided, worked and taught. Over the years, additional buildings were added. Gradually a large campus developed with the donation of rulers and migration of more scholars. There were around 10,500 students. Not only Indians but also students from Babylonia, Greece, Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia and China came to study here. The curriculum consists of 68 elective courses and and the minimum entrance age was 16. Entrance to the university was a difficult process. Two out of three applications gets rejected for admission. Students were supposed to pay for their expenses. However, if a student was unable to pay then he could work for his teacher. There was a special academy for the princes, which had on its rolls 101 scholars. Another center of royal scions was the institute of military science, whose strength was 103 princes and at one time rose to 500. Besides these institutions, there were many other colleges, where instruction in archery, hunting, elephant-lore, political economy, law and other arts, humanities and sciences was imparted to students of high rank and caliber.
Each teacher formed his own institution, enjoying complete autonomy in work, teaching as many students as he liked and teaching subjects he liked without confirming to any specific centralized syllabus. Study terminated when the teacher was satisfied with the student's level of achievement. The teachers were exempted from the payment of taxes. They were given ample amounts of money on the the occasion of various sacrifices and rituals as well.
A wide range of subjects were taught by experienced teachers: Vedas, Language, Grammar, Philosophy, Medicine, Surgery, Archery, Politics, Warfare, Astronomy, Astrology, Accounts, Commerce, Futurology, Documentation, Occult, Music, Dance etc. Students from Magadha traveled the vast distances of northern India in order to join the schools and colleges of Takshashila. From Pali texts, it is evidence of the Brahmana youths, Khattriya princes and sons of Setthis from Rajagriha, Kashi, Kosala and other places went to Takshashila for learning the Vedas and eighteen sciences and arts. The panel of teachers included renowned names like Kautilya (the author of the “Arthashastra”), Panini (the codifier of Sanskrit into today’s form), Jivak (medicine specialist) and Vishnu Sharma (author and compiler of the Panchtantra).
When Alexander’s armies came to the Punjab in the fourth century B.C., Takshashila had already developed a reputation as an important center of learning. Thus on his return, Alexander took many scholars from there with him to Greece. Being near the north-west frontier of India, Takshashila had to face the attacks and invasions from the north and the west. Thus the Persians, Greeks, Parthians, Shakas and Kushanas laid their destructive marks on this institution. However, the final blow came from the Huns in 450 A.D., who razed the institution. When the Chinese traveler Huen T’sang (A.D. 603-64) visited Takshashila, the town had lost all its former grandeur and international character.
Great culture of studies and proud for ancient university, those sign of tremendous and commendable achievement.
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