Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/135

Chap.III.] Now hear me, O child, describe the mode of studying (the present science of the Ayurveda.) The pupil having worshipped and recited his daily prayers should calmly sit near his preceptor, pure in body and mind, who should teach him a full Shloka or couplet of the Ayurveda), or a half or a quarter part thereof, adapted to his intellectual capacity. Then he should make a full and elaborate paraphrase of the recited couplet or any part thereof, and ask his pupils individually to do the same. When the pupils have paraphrased the same to the satisfaction of the preceptor, he should again recite the same stanza or couplet. The passages or shlokas should not be recited too hastily, nor drawled out in a timid or faltering voice, nor with a nasal intonation. The voice should be neither too loud, nor too weak, but each sound should be clearly and distinctly uttered, and the lips, the eyes, the eye- brows, and the hands, etc. should not be lifted or moved to keep time with the recitation. No one should be allowed to pass between the pupil and the preceptor at the time of study.

Authoritative verses on the subject:—A pupil who is pure, obedient to his preceptor, applies himself steadily to his work, and abandons laziness and excessive sleep, will arrive at the end of the science (he has been studying).

A student or a pupil, having finished the course of