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Nalanda

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Nālandā (literally "the giver of the lotus"), about 55 miles south east of Patna, was a Buddhist center of learning from the 5th century CE[1] to the 12th century.

The Jain Tirthankara Mahavira attained Moksha at Pavapuri, which is located in Nalanda (also according to one sect of Jainism he was born in the nearby village called Kundalpur).[citation needed]The Gautama Buddha is believed to have visited Nalanda and given sermons near "the Mango Grove of Pavarika".[citation needed]Sāriputta, the right hand disciple of the Buddha, was born and died in Nālandā.[2] Asoka is said to have built a temple there.[3]According to Tibetan sources, Nagarjuna taught there.[citation needed] However, historical studies indicate that the university was established c. 450 CE.[4]

Nalanda was one of the first residential universities, i.e. it had dorms. During its days it was a flourishing residential university with over 10,000 students and 1500 teachers. The university was marked by a lofty wall and one gate.The library was located in a nine storied building. The subjects taught at Nalanda University covered every field of learning.The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century.

A vast amount of what is considered to be Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) actually stems from the late (9th-12th century) Nalanda teachers and traditions. Other forms of Buddhism, like the Mahayana followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, found their genesis within the walls of the ancient university. Theravada, the other main school of Buddhism, followed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and elsewhere, and later the mystic Theravada schools also developed here.

In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was sacked by Turkic Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as a milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. It is said that Khalji asked if there was a copy of the Koran at Nalanda before he sacked it[citation needed]. When the Tibetan translator Chag Lotsawa visited them in 1235, he found them damaged and looted, but still functioning with a small number of monks. The destruction of the universities at Nalanda, as well as the destruction of many temples and monasteries throughout northern India which housed centers of learning, is considered by many historians to be responsible for the sudden demise of ancient Indian scientific thought in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and anatomy[citation needed]. Fortified Sena monasteries along the main route of the invasion were destroyed, and being off the main route both Nalanda and Bodh Gaya survived. Many institutions off the main route such as the Jagaddala Monastery in northern Bengal were untouched and flourishing.

A number of ruined structures survive. Nearby is the Surya Mandir, a Hindu temple. The known and excavated ruins extend over an area of about 150,000 square metres, although if Xuanzang's account of Nalanda's extent is correlated with present excavations, almost 90% of it remains unexcavated.

Nālandā is no longer inhabited. Today the nearest habitation is a village called Bargaon.

In 1951, a modern centre for Pali (Theravadin) Buddhist studies was founded nearby, the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. Presently, this institute is pursuing an ambitious program of satellite imaging of the entire region.

The Nalanda Museum contains a number of manuscripts, and shows many examples of the items that have been excavated.


Contents

References

  1. ^ Altekar, Anant Sadashiv (1965). Education in Ancient India, Sixth, Varanasi: Nand Kishore & Bros.
  2. ^ Altekar 1965
  3. ^ Altekar 1965
  4. ^ Altekar 1965

See also

Nalanda is also the name of the modern administrative district of Bihar in which the ancient university ruins are found.

Nalanda is also the name of two modern-day colleges, one in Sri Lanka and one in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and of a monastery in France.

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Articles with unsourced statements | 5th century establishments | Archaeological sites in India | Former Buddhist temples | Ruins | Bihar | Places connected with Jainism | Ancient Universities of India | Buddhist pilgrimage

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