April 11, 2020

crash courses - yes. learn 64 arts in just 64 days

today, we take enough pride even if we just know few words in some topics and if we can converse confidently using those words & sentences on variety of topics during water-cooler break or in social media. do we invest time in going deep in learning? we need to retrospect on that.

in this modern day education, we have a very tight scheduled time table for day & also for life. learning kind of stops once we get a job or a decent earning. learning & knowledge is now a days measured in the units of bank balance & also to an extent of the outer appearance. Isn’t it? Am sure you will agree with this.

so, what did ancient indians learn? Did they go to school? Yes. Ofcourse gurukul. We know that. what was taught in those day gurukuls? definitely not the one-size fits all 1^st standard to engineering or medical. so what was taught & learnt? What were the subjects?

here i would love to take reference from bhagwan sri krishna & sri balarama learning kalas & vidya. That is 64 primary arts, vedas, their upanishads, vedangas and sciences. It’s the chausath kala I am talking about.

in srimad bhagavatham, to teach human race about the proper way to respect one’s guru, kṛṣṇa and balarāma served their spiritual master sandipani muni with great devotion, as they would a deity of the supreme lord himself.

sandīpani muni pleased by their service, imparted to them detailed knowledge of all the vedas, together with their six corollaries and the upaniṣads.

as students, sri krishna and sri balarama needed to hear each subject explained only once to assimilate it completely, and thus in sixty-four days they learned the sixty-four traditional arts.

yes, 64 primary arts in just 64 days. one-day crash course for each art was sufficient for them to master the art of the day.

srimad bhagavatham - this is one of the 18 puranas & also called as bhagavata purana. in this purana, in the skandha about sri krishna, chapter 45 is to teach us by example how to be a perfect student & receive immense knowledge from the right guru. to know about the proof of the arts they learn, refer to the texts numbered – 33 to 36 in 45^th chapter of Krishna avatar in Srimad Bhagavatam

pl make a note of this. vidyas & kalas ( arts ) are learnt. this is smart isn’t it? arts & vidyas are two different categories. really? wow. the syllabus is getting tough. by the way what’s the difference between vidya & kala. Sukra niti explains as below:

vidya is one which can be said

kala is that which can be acted even by a dumb.

what?? kala can be enacted by dumb?? ok. seriously not fair. Anyways, let’s check out the primary arts first. for my easy understanding, i have made sets of 8 arts in each table. sure, it’ll help you too .

after this list, pl do check below the other arts & sciences that were taught & learnt in those golden days.

playing with toys, telling what’s in the other person’s fist, playing dice, memorizing verse are all part of the primary arts to be learnt. how interesting. right??

1^st set - 8 / 64 primary arts

1	gītam	singing
2	vādyam	playing on musical instruments
3	nṛtyam	dancing
4	nāṭyam	drama
5	ālekhyam	painting
6	viśeṣaka-cchedyam	painting the face and body with colored unguents and cosmetics
7	taṇḍula-kusuma-bali-vikārāḥ	preparing auspicious designs on the floor with rice and flowers
8	puṣpāstaraṇam	making a bed of flowers

2^nd set - 16 / 64 primary arts

9	daśana-vasanāṅga-rāgāḥ	coloring one’s teeth, clothes and limbs
10	maṇi-bhūmikā-karma	inlaying a floor with jewels
11	śayyā-racanam	covering a bed
12	udaka-vādyam	ringing waterpots
13	udaka-ghātaḥ	splashing with water
14	citra-yogāḥ	mixing colors
15	mālya-grathana-vikalpāḥ	preparing garlands
16	śekharāpīḍa-yojanam	setting a helmet on the head

3^rd set - 24 / 64 primary arts

17	nepathya-yogāḥ	dressing appropriately
18	karṇa-patra-bhaṅgāḥ	decorating the earlobe
19	sugandha-yuktiḥ	applying aromatics
20	bhūṣaṇa-yojanam	decorating with jewelry
21	aindrajālam	jugglery
22	kaucumāra-yogaḥ	the art of disguise
23	hasta-lāghavam	sleight of hand
24	citra-śākāpūpa-bhakṣya-vikāra-kriyaḥ	preparing varieties of delicious food

4^th set - 32 / 64 primary arts

25	pānaka-rasa-rāgāsava-yojanam	preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color
26	sūcī-vāya-karma	needlework and weaving
27	sūtra-krīḍā	making puppets dance by manipulating thin threads
28	vīṇā-ḍamarukavādyāni	playing on a lute and a small x-shaped drum
29	prahelikā	making and solving riddles
30	pratimālā	capping verses or reciting poems verse for verse as a trial of memory or skill
31	durvacaka-yogāḥ	uttering statements difficult for others to answer
32	pustaka-vācanam	reciting books

5^th set - 40 / 64 primary arts

33	nāṭikākhyāyikā-darśanam	enacting short plays and writing anecdotes.
34	kāvya-samasyā-pūraṇam	solving enigmatic verses
35	paṭṭikā-vetra-bāṇa-vikalpāḥ	making a bow from a strip of cloth and a stick
36	tarku-karma	spinning with a spindle
37	takṣaṇam	carpentry
38	vāstu-vidyā	architecture
39	raupya-ratna-parīkṣā	testing silver and jewels
40	dhātu-vādaḥ	metallurgy

6^th set - 48 / 64 primary arts

41	maṇi-rāga-jñānam	tinging jewels with various colors
42	ākara-jñānam	mineralogy
43	vṛkṣāyur-veda-yogāḥ	herbal medicine
44	meṣa-kukkuṭa-lāvaka-yuddha-vidhiḥ	the art of training and engaging rams, cocks and quails in fighting
45	śuka-śārikā-pralāpanam	knowledge of how to train male and female parrots to speak and to answer the questions of human beings
46	utsādanam	healing a person with ointments
47	keśa-mārjana-kauśalam	hairdressing
48	akṣara-muṣṭikā-kathanam	telling what is written in a book without seeing it, and telling what is hidden in another’s fist

7^th set - 56 / 64 primary arts

49	mlecchita-kutarka-vikalpāḥ	fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry
50	deśa-bhāṣā-jñānam	knowledge of provincial dialects
51	puṣpa-śakaṭikā-nirmiti-jñānam	knowledge of how to build toy carts with flowers
52	yantra-mātṛkā	composing magic squares, arrangements of numbers adding up to the same total in all directions
53	dhāraṇa-mātṛkā	the use of amulets
54	saṁvācyam	conversation
55	mānasī-kāvya-kriyā	composing verses mentally
56	kriyā-vikalpāḥ	designing a literary work or a medical remedy

8^th set - 64 / 64 primary arts

57	chalitaka-yogāḥ	building shrines
58	abhidhāna-koṣa-cchando-jñānam	lexicography and the knowledge of poetic meters
59	vastra-gopanam	disguising one kind of cloth to look like another
60	dyūta-viśeṣam	knowledge of various forms of gambling
61	ākarṣa-krīḍa	playing dice
62	bālaka-krīḍanakam	playing with children’s toys
63	vaināyikī vidyā	enforcing discipline by mystic power
64	vaijayikī vidyā	gaining victory
65	vaitālikī vidyā	awakening one’s master with music at dawn.

now, let’s check out the remaining subjects

4 vedas, 4 upavedas and 6 vedangas are the 14 sciences that are part of vidya that was learnt in good old black & white or the eastman color days

1	veda	rig veda	For skilled learner. has advanced metaphors and allusions – has hyms of praise for 5 elements & nature in the form of deities. Explains the nature & features of the 5 elements in a very elaborate & complicated presentation
2	veda	yajur veda	contains explanatory commentaries on how to perform religious rituals and sacrifices
3	veda	sama veda	Content similar to rig veda. But arranged in simpler format that’s easy to chant
4	veda	atharvana veda	charms and magical incantations and has a more folkloristic style that has more of tantras i.e techniques
5	upavedas	Artha shastra	Governance, economic policies and military strategy
6	upavedas	Dhanur veda	Science of archery
7	upavedas	Gandharva veda	Performing arts
8	upavedas	ayurveda	Science of life
9	angas	sikshâ	Phonetics & phonology of Sanskrit
10	angas	vyâkarana.	Sanskrit grammatical tradition
11	angas	kalpa	rituals in ceremonies
12	angas	nirukta	etymology – explanation of Sanskrit words
13	angas	jyotish	Studies on traditional astronomy, predictions of major events for a person or country, vastu shastra, omens,
14	angas	chhandas	about prosody ( meter in classic poetry )

Oops.. there’s a lot missing the ancient subjects. Isn’t it? – digital photography, digital marketing, product management, project management and more..

By the way, in tamil nadu – there is something called aaya kalaigal 64.

And there’s something that elders wish youngsters with this - padhinaarum petru peruvaazhvu vaazhga, which means there’s some 16, that you need to be blessed with for a great life.

So, what are those 64 arts & what are those in the list 16 for a great life. Will reserve this topic for the next writing.

For now, a tiny bonus: We often hear about the 18 puranas are. if you want to know about them in a simple table, here it is.

1	agni	includes geography of mithila (bihar and neighboring states), cultural history, politics, education system, iconography, taxation theories, organization of army, theories on proper causes for war, diplomacy, local laws, building public projects, water distribution methods, trees and plants, medicine, vastu shastra (architecture), gemology, grammar, metrics, poetry, food, rituals and numerous other topics.
2	bhagavata	the most studied and popular of the puranas, telling of vishnu's avatars, and of vaishnavism.
3	brahma	includes mythology, theory of war, art work in temples, and other cultural topics. describes holy places in odisha, and weaves themes of vishnu and shiva,
4	brahmanda	includes lalita sahasranamam, law codes, system of governance, administration, diplomacy, trade, ethics.
5	brahmavaivarta	centres around the greatness of krishna and radha.
6	garuda	describes cosmology, relationship between gods. discusses ethics, what are crimes, good versus evil, various schools of hindu philosophies, the theory of yoga, the theory of "heaven and hell" with "karma and rebirth", includes chapters on rivers, geography of bharat (india) and other nations on earth, types of minerals and stones, testing methods for stones for their quality, various diseases and their symptoms, various medicines, aphrodisiacs, prophylactics, hindu calendar and its basis, astronomy, moon, planets, astrology, architecture, building home, essential features of a temple, rites of passage, virtues such as compassion, charity and gift making, economy, thrift, duties of a king, politics, state officials and their roles and how to appointment them, genre of literature, rules of grammar, and other topics.^[41] the final chapters discuss how to practice yoga (samkhya and advaita types), personal development and the benefits of self-knowledge.
7	kurma	contains a combination of vishnu and shiva related legends, mythology, pilgrimage and theology
8	linga	discusses lingam, symbol of shiva, and origin of the universe as per shaivism.
9	markandeya	describes vindhya range and western india. contains chapters on dharma and on hindu epic mahabharata.the purana includes devi mahatmyam of shaktism.
10	matsya	narrates the story of matsya avatar
11	narada	discusses the four vedas and the six vedangas.
12	padma	a large compilation of diverse topics, it escribes cosmology, the world and nature of life from the perspective of vishnu. it also discusses festivals, numerous legends, geography of rivers and regions from northwest india to bengal to the kingdom of tripura, major sages of india, various avatars of vishnu and his cooperation with shiva, a story of rama-sita that is different from the hindu epic ramayana
13	shiva	discusses shiva, and stories about him.
14	skanda	describes the birth of skanda (or karthikeya), son of shiva. the longest purana, it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in india, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories.
15	vamana	describes north india, particularly himalayan foothills region.
16	varaha	primarily on varaha avatar
17	vayu	possibly the oldest of all maha puranas. discusses rituals, family life, and life stages of a human being.
18	vishnu	one of the most studied and circulated puranas. some versions discussing buddhism and jainism, focussed on vishnu.

pl share your views on this writing. if you liked this or you got bored

wishing you health & happiness in abundance

3 comments

This was a great time of mine reading through every each words and as well a great work of author of collecting heap of information in short brief of ancient hindu tradition, the article will drive the reader in learning everything if not make a wish in mind in learning all 4 veda, 4 upaveda, 6 vedangs18 purana, 64 vidhya. That will be Great investment of time if someone attempts in learning all of this, and thank you very much in sharing your thoughts.

Vinay N Revankar August 05, 2020

This is super informative and thanks for sharing.

Deepika June 27, 2020

Hi Mam,

This is really wonderful to know. And with this coming from our Vedas is more authentic in itself!

Please Keep Sharing:)

Akshaya May 19, 2020

3 comments

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