But the study of Vedas is reserved for the high caste males only, find Kumar Buradikatti and Smitha Ranganath
A small village of around 200 families has earned fame for reviving an ancient language no one in the modern day urban metros wants to speak. And it's happy about it.
Situated seven kilometres away from district headquarter, Shimoga and 285 kms from state capital, Bangalore, on the bank of river Tunga, Mattur is located in the middle of vast sky-kissing areca nut plantations and green paddy fields stretching as far as the eye can see. As you enter the hamlet, you feel as if you were walking down the streets of an ancient Brahamin Agrahara.
On one hand you have a pristine river Tunga flowing. People can be seen taking a dip here and there. On the right side of the riverbank, stands a temple abutted by a yagna platform. The houses in the lanes front Sanskrit mantras painted on its walls. Tiny tots frolic in the green expanse. As you walk through the village you hear children reciting the Vedas It’s confusing. Has one walked into a Ramayana serial on TV??
Villagers shun western attire. A man wearing shirt and trousers is likely to be an outsider to the community. Everyone here wears a dhoti – white cloth around the waist – and a sacred thread slung across upper torso.
Muttur has produced number of scholars, some engaged in spreading and promoting ancient Hindu culture in far away places and some settling down in the village to teach the younger generation. The president of Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Padmashree Dr. Mattur Krishnamurhty hails from this village.
It all started when Samskruta Bharathi, an organization committed to promotion of Sanskrit, organized a 10-day workshop in Mattur to teach the language to villagers. Twenty-five years of hard work has started to yield results, Sanskrit today is the preferred language of most households here.
Muttur’s scholars practice the gurukul system with many teachers instructing a set of students at their own house.
Children from far and near come and stay with their guru till they complete their study. During their stay they are treated as members of the family and have to do the daily chores – washing clothes, fetching water or taking cattle for grazing in the fields. The gurus neither charge anything nor do they accept anything in return.
“Western education system is expanding the horizon of job opportunities and English medium schools are mushrooming even in remote villages to cater to the people’s demands. If a parent resists the attraction of western education and allied benefits and agrees to send their children to a gurukul, it is a big thing. How can I expect anything more than this?” asks Dr. MS Sanath Kumar, one of the Sanskrit scholars in the village.
Dr Kumar has a PHD in Ancient Hindu Law and has a very good command over Hindu religious literature including the Vedas. At present four children from different villages are studying at his home. He has given them a separate room in his house. His wife, Savitri prepares food for all. The children take holy dip in Tunga early in the morning before setting off for day’s activities.
All the families in the village depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Some own two acres, others 20. Most grow areca nut and rice, both of which bring a good price in the market. Brahmins here don’t toil on their plantations preferring to engage the shudras from the neighbouring village to do it on wage basis. “We are able to concentrate on studying and teaching younger generation since we are free from physical labour,” says Dr. Sanath Kumar.
A visit to the only Veda Pathashaala meant exclusively for study of Vedas reveals 10 students studying at the school. Inside we find a reading room that has Vedic scriptures stacked one atop another. When asked whether or not women and the people of other communities are allowed to study the Vedas at the Pathashaala, Ranganath a student promptly replies, “Vedas are not meant for women and shudras. Of course, women can learn music.” Ranganath has been studying the Vedas here for six years now.
Dr. Sanath Kumar, one of the teachers at the school, appears to hold the same view, “Learning Sanskrit and studying Vedas are two different things. While the former is open to all, the latter is restricted to some.”
In the government run Sharada Vilaasa High School situated in the middle of the village, Sanskrit is a compulsory language till VII class and it is first language from VII to X standard.
Globalisation, however, has not left Mattur untouched. There are those that want English education for their children. Fortunately, it’s not at the cost of Sanskrit. The facts speak for themselves. Over the last five years the village has contributed some 150 odd students to the IITs and IIMs.
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