gurukulas

Gurukula (also spelled gurukul) is a Sanskrit term meaning “the family of the guru,” from guru (teacher) and kula (household or lineage). In ancient and medieval India, gurukulas were residential schools where students lived with their teacher in an ashram or forest hermitage, and education was conducted through direct, oral instruction in the guru’s home.

The typical gurukula operated on a guru-shishya (teacher-student) relationship. Students (shishyas) would reside with the guru, follow a daily routine, and study a disciplined curriculum that emphasized memorization, recitation, and reverence for the teacher. Subjects commonly included the Vedas, Sanskrit grammar and literature, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, ritual knowledge, and ethics or dharma. Practical skills, arts, music, and social duties were sometimes part of the training as well. The educational method prioritized moral development, humility, self-control, and service to the guru.

Historically, gurukulas were linked to Brahminical and Vedic learning, but they varied by region and period. Access often depended on social norms of the time, with limited gender participation and varying caste-based restrictions. Gurukulas were typically scattered across villages and forest settlements, operating outside formal urban curricula.

In the modern era, the traditional gurukula system declined under changes in education policy, colonization, urbanization, and standardized schooling. Nevertheless, a number of contemporary organizations and schools adopt gurukula-inspired models, offering residential learning with an emphasis on traditional disciplines while integrating modern curricula and regulatory oversight. The term continues to be used in India and Nepal to describe both historical institutions and modern residential education centers.