Nalanda university history

Archeological Ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara , 21 st century, via UNESCO Western establishments like Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, Harvard, etc. have been sanctified for their education and guidance for the past two centuries. However, a thousand years prior to the worldwide colonization of Europeans, Asian centers of learning such as Nalanda Mahavihara of Magadha were renowned for their academic excellence. The architecture of the Buddhist monastic center was similar to our modern university towns, which provide lodging and boarding for their students. Founded in 427 C.E., Nalanda Mahavihara , or Nalanda University, lasted for over 700 hundred years. It survived political waves, the rise and fall of civilizations, religious wars, and the birth of intellectual greats for almost a millennium before the Turks destroyed it. Archeological Excavations At Nalanda University Nalanda Excavations in Bihar, India , 1917-35, via Google Arts and Culture In a 1917 notice by the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, archeologist David Spooner detailed the discovery of a 24-feet high wall, 600 clay tables, and 211 uniquely carved stone panels surrounding the Baladitya temple, situated in modern-day Bihar. The digging performed around a kilometer square of Nalanda district was counted as one of the most beautiful marvels of its time. Antiquarian artifacts found on the Nalanda University site are categorized under daily use objects and bronze ritualistic materials. Hundreds of other ...

Nalanda University was one of the world’s first educational institutions. It was established in the 5th Century, situated close to Rajagriha(now Rajgir) in Bihar. It flourished under the Gupta king- Kumaragupta, Harsha- the emperor of Kannauj and later under the Pala empire. It was not only a residential university but also a Buddhist monastery. The details of the university can be found in the writings of famous Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang. According to him, there were 10,000 monks and 2000 teachers at Nalanda at that time. The famous mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata was the head of this university. Some prominent students were Harshavardhana, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, etc. Nalanda had 800 years of tradition as a university. Important Terms: • Nalanda: Nalanda is a combination of three Sanskrit words Na-Alam-Da which means the “Unstoppable flow of Knowledge”. • Hiuen Tsang: Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese scholar, traveller. Details about the university can be found in his writings. It is said that he was a student of Nalanda University. • Aryabhata: Aryabhata is one of the most famous mathematicians and astronomers in India. He invented the Zero (0) digit, that had changed the pattern of calculation. He was the Head of Nalanda University. Establishment of Nalanda University: Nalanda is the name of an ancient centre of higher studies in Bihar, present India. It is located in Bihar, about 95 km southeast of Patna, the capital of Bihar. It was a Buddhist centre of studies fr...

Encyclopedia Of Indian History! Welcome to Historical India! Historical India is an academic community platform where any enthusiast may join, create and edit articles. Come contribute to this open-source community project and help create an authentic encyclopedia of Indian history. Feel free to publish interesting articles, cite references from the content-rich books, research papers etc., that you read, or just create an article on your favorite historical figure or epoch. Table Of Contents Nalanda was an ancient Mahavihara, a revered Buddhist monastery that also served as a renowned centre of learning, in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India. It was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world. If we move about 80 km towards southeast from the capital city Patna, Bihar; you will find an almost ruined or destroyed bricks structure spread over 12 hectares. When we go back in the history, here stood the world’s most prominent educational institution which comprised of a huge campus area including multiple colleges, libraries, residential quarters and hostels for students, places of worship and meditation and statues of Buddha. If we see the geographical location of Nalanda, It is situated in the prestigious and the most powerful Mahajanapada i.e. Magadha and surrounded by the some important cities like Rajgir and Vaishali, present day near Bihar Sharif town. History There are several theories given by different historians about the past of Nal...

History and Revival The establishment of ancient Nalanda as an undisputed seat of learning was a historical consequence of its context. Ancient Magadha was characterized by an intellectual ferment unlike any known to humanity. The ability to meld multiple discourses and embrace knowledge in its entirety is what made Nalanda uniquely attractive for all seekers of knowledge. Historical sources indicate that the University had a long and illustrious life which lasted almost continually for 800 years from the fifth to the twelfth century CE. It was a completely residential university believed to have 2,000 teachers and 10,000 students. The Nalanda ruins reveal through their architectural components the holistic nature of knowledge that was sought and imparted at this University. It suggests a seamless co-existence between nature and man, and between living and learning. The profound knowledge of Nalanda’s teachers attracted scholars from places as distant as China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia. These scholars have left records about the ambience, architecture, and learning at this unique university. The most detailed accounts have come from Chinese scholars and the best known of these is Xuan Zang who carried back many hundred scriptures which were later translated into Chinese. Thus, when the former President of India, the Hon’ble Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam mooted the idea of reviving the ancient Nalanda University while addressing the Bih...

In ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India, Nalanda is a prominent Buddhist monastic academy. It was near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir) and around 90 kilometres southeast of Pataliputra, and operated from 427 to 1197 CE. Historians consider it to be the world’s first residential university and one of the finest centres of learning in the ancient world. During the Gupta Empire, Nalanda was founded with the help of several Indian and Javanese benefactors, including Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Its faculty featured some of Mahayana Buddhism’s most illustrious academics throughout the course of 750 years. ImageCredit: livehistoryindia The Hindu Vedas and its six philosophies, as well as grammar, medicine, logic, and mathematics, were taught in Nalanda Mahavihara, as were six important Buddhist schools and philosophies such as Yogacara and Sarvastivada. The university was also an important source of the 657 Sanskrit books sent to China by pilgrim Xuanzang and the 400 Sanskrit texts brought to China by Yijing in the 7th century, both of which inspired East Asian Buddhism. It was plundered and destroyed by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji’s soldiers, then partially rebuilt and survived until around 1400 CE. It is now a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to Xuanzang, a Chinese traveller from the early 7th century Tang Dynasty, the name Nland was derived from a Naga — a snake god in Indian traditions–named Nalanda. He suggests that “na-alam-da” means “charity with...

How old is Nalanda University? “Learned men from different cities who desire to quickly acquire renown in discussion, come here in multitudesto settle their doubts, and then the streams (of their wisdom) spread far and wide”, Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang said, on his visit to Nalanda University in the 7th century CE. Nalanda was an ancient Maha-vihara, a revered Buddhist monastery that also served as a renowned centre of learning,in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India. It was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world. If we move about 80 km towards southeast from the capital city Patna, Bihar; you will find an almost ruined or destroyed bricks structure spread over 12 hectares. When we go back in the history, here stood the world’s most prominent educational institution which comprised of a huge campus area including multiple colleges, libraries, residential quarters and hostels for students, places of worship and meditation and statues of Buddha. If we see the geographical location of Nalanda, It is situated in the prestigious and the most powerful Mahajanapada i.e. Magadha and surrounded by the some important cities like Rajgir and Vaishali, present day near Bihar Sharif town. There are several theories given by different historians about the past of Nalanda University. Some of the historians have one view whereas the others have a different view about its existence. However, it is difficult to determine when the Nalanda became a fu...

The recent news of the Taliban terrorists burning down buildings in Afghanistan, automatically brought forth into people’s mind the historical image of massive plunder and burning down of the famous Nalanda university by Turk invader Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji in the late 12th century CE. Persian historian Minhaj-I-Siraj in his book Tabaqat-I Nasiri recorded the series of plundering raids into Bihar by Khalji, where he described the Nalanda attack: “Muhammad-i-Bakhtiyar, by the force of his intrepidity, threw himself into the postern of the gateway of the place, and they captured the fortress, and acquired great booty. The greater number of the inhabitants of that place was Brahmans [monks], and the whole of those had their heads shaven; and they were all slain. There were a great number of books there; and, when all these books came under the observation of the Musalmans, they summoned a number of Hindus that they might give them information respecting the import of those books; but the whole of the Hindus had been killed. On becoming acquainted [with the contents of those books], it was found that the whole of that fortress and city was a college, and in the Hindustani tongue, they call a college or Vihar.” (Ref: Tabakat-i-Nasiri – Translated by Major H.G. Raverty. p. 552) As Sukumar Dutta (1962) wrote in his book Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History And Contribution To Indian Culture, Bakhtiyar Khalji, after massacring the scholars and monks and des...

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How old is Nalanda University? “Learned men from different cities who desire to quickly acquire renown in discussion, come here in multitudesto settle their doubts, and then the streams (of their wisdom) spread far and wide”, Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang said, on his visit to Nalanda University in the 7th century CE. Nalanda was an ancient Maha-vihara, a revered Buddhist monastery that also served as a renowned centre of learning,in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India. It was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world. If we move about 80 km towards southeast from the capital city Patna, Bihar; you will find an almost ruined or destroyed bricks structure spread over 12 hectares. When we go back in the history, here stood the world’s most prominent educational institution which comprised of a huge campus area including multiple colleges, libraries, residential quarters and hostels for students, places of worship and meditation and statues of Buddha. If we see the geographical location of Nalanda, It is situated in the prestigious and the most powerful Mahajanapada i.e. Magadha and surrounded by the some important cities like Rajgir and Vaishali, present day near Bihar Sharif town. There are several theories given by different historians about the past of Nalanda University. Some of the historians have one view whereas the others have a different view about its existence. However, it is difficult to determine when the Nalanda became a fu...

Nalanda University was one of the world’s first educational institutions. It was established in the 5th Century, situated close to Rajagriha(now Rajgir) in Bihar. It flourished under the Gupta king- Kumaragupta, Harsha- the emperor of Kannauj and later under the Pala empire. It was not only a residential university but also a Buddhist monastery. The details of the university can be found in the writings of famous Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang. According to him, there were 10,000 monks and 2000 teachers at Nalanda at that time. The famous mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata was the head of this university. Some prominent students were Harshavardhana, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, etc. Nalanda had 800 years of tradition as a university. Important Terms: • Nalanda: Nalanda is a combination of three Sanskrit words Na-Alam-Da which means the “Unstoppable flow of Knowledge”. • Hiuen Tsang: Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese scholar, traveller. Details about the university can be found in his writings. It is said that he was a student of Nalanda University. • Aryabhata: Aryabhata is one of the most famous mathematicians and astronomers in India. He invented the Zero (0) digit, that had changed the pattern of calculation. He was the Head of Nalanda University. Establishment of Nalanda University: Nalanda is the name of an ancient centre of higher studies in Bihar, present India. It is located in Bihar, about 95 km southeast of Patna, the capital of Bihar. It was a Buddhist centre of studies fr...