A gurukula or gurukulām (Sanskrit: गुरुकुल, translit. gurukulā) was a type of education system in ancient India with shishya ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru, in the same house.[1] The guru-shishya tradition is a sacred one in Hinduism and appears in other religious groups in India, such as Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The word gurukula is a combination of the Sanskrit words guru ('teacher' or 'master') and kula ('family' or 'home').[2][3] Before the arrival of British rule, they served as South Asia's primary educational system.