Pathasala

For the 2010 Indian Hindi-language film, see Paathshaala. For the 2014 Indian Telugu-language film, see Paathasala. For other uses, see Pathshala (disambiguation).

In Hinduism, a pathasala (IAST:Pāṭhaśālā) (also written as pathashala) is a traditional religious school where knowledge of the Vedas is transmitted to male Brahmin students.^[1]

In a pathasala, children are taught in Sanskrit by Brahmins. In India, the term pathasala has become synonymous with the term Vidyalaya which refers to school. Before British rule, along with gurukulas , pathasalas served as primary educational institutions in India. Pathasalas were non-residential in nature, where as gurukalas were residential.^{[citation needed ]}