Education and transmission of knowledge in medieval India

Abstract

The various regions of the Indian subcontinent came into contact with the Islamic cultural tradition in the seventh century CE. Indian scholars were able to leave a mark on the world of Islamic scholarship especially in the fields of ḥadīth and other connected disciplines, significantly underlining their recognition for contributions in the Islamic East. An attempt has been made to analyse and to understand the processes of transmission of knowledge through formal and informal means, including the transfer of accumulated experience to the next generation and even the passing of “intuitive knowledge” to the seeker of knowledge. It has been argued that the level of Indian scholarship in certain disciplines was at par with the level of scholarship in the Islamic East. It has also been examined that during the medieval period Sanskrit based studies flourished at important Hindu pilgrimage centres such as Benaras, often described by European travellers as the Athens of India. The Royal and private libraries functioned with firm footings. Finally, it is shown that education and transmission of knowledge was organized in a manner that owes much to the best of Greco-Arab tradition.