Nalanda mahavihara

Nalanda
The ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara
Alternative nameNala, Nalaka, Nalakagrama[1][2]
LocationNalanda, Bihar, India
RegionMagadha
Coordinates25°08′12″N 85°26′33″E / 25.13662°N 85.4426079°E / 25.13662; 85.4426079
TypeMahavihara, monastery
Length240 m (800 ft)
Width490 m (1,600 ft)
Area12 ha (30 acres)
History
BuilderKing Kumaragupta I
Founded427 CE
AbandonedAround 1400 CE[3]
EventsLikely attacked and ransacked by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji in c. 1200 CE.[4][5]
Site notes
Excavation dates1915–1937, 1974–1982[6]
ArchaeologistsDavid B. Spooner, Hiranand Sastri, Palak Shah, J. A. Page, M. Kuraishi, G. C. Chandra, N. Nazim, Amalananda Ghosh[7]
ConditionIn ruins
OwnershipGovernment of India
ManagementArchaeological Survey of India
Public accessYes
WebsiteASI
ASI No. N-BR-43[8]
Official nameArchaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar
CriteriaCultural: iv, vi
Reference1502
Inscription2016 (40th Session)
Area23 ha
Buffer zone57.88 ha

Nalanda (IAST: Nālandā, pronounced [naːlən̪d̪aː]) was a renowned Buddhist mahavihara (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India.[9][10][11] Widely considered to be among the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as "the world's first residential university",[12][13][14] it was located near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir), roughly 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Pataliputra (now Patna). Operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE,[15][16] Nalanda mahavihara played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts, culture and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the "Golden Age of India" by scholars.[17] The characterisation of Nalanda as a "university" in the modern sense has been challenged by scholars. They argue that while it was undoubtedly a major centre of learning, comparing it directly to a modern university is historically imprecise.[18][19][20]

Nalanda was established by emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire around 427 CE,[21] and was supported by numerous Indian and Javanese patrons – both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.[22][23] Nalanda continued to thrive with the support of the rulers of the Pushyabhuti dynasty (r. 500–647 CE) and the Pala Empire (r. 750–1161 CE). After the fall of the Palas, the monks of Nalanda were patronised by the Pithipatis of Magadha.[24] Nalanda was attacked by Huns under Mihirakula in the 5th century and again sustained severe damage from an invasion by the Gauda king of Bengal in the 8th Century.[25] During the final invasion it was burnt down by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji (c. 1200), but it managed to remain operational for decades (or possibly even centuries) following his raids.[4][26][27]

Over some 750 years, Nalanda's faculty included some of the most revered scholars of Mahayana Buddhism. The historian William Dalrymple said of Nalanda that "at its apex, it was the undisputed scholarly centre of the Mahayana Buddhist world".[28] The faculty and students associated with the monastery included Dharmapala, Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti, Xuanzang, Śīlabhadra, Vajrabodhi, and possibly Aryabhata.[29][30][31][32][33][34] The curriculum of Nalanda included major Buddhist philosophies like Madhyamaka, Yogachara and Sarvastivada, as well as subjects like the Vedas, grammar, medicine, logic, mathematics,[35] astronomy[36] and alchemy.[37] The mahavihara had a renowned library that was a key source for the Sanskrit texts that were transmitted to East Asia by pilgrims like Xuanzang and Yijing.[38] Many texts composed at Nalanda played an important role in the development of Mahayana and Vajrayana. They include the works of Dharmakirti, the Sanskrit text Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra of Shantideva, and the Mahavairocana Tantra.[39][40][41]

The ancient site of Nalanda is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[42] In 2010, the Government of India passed a resolution to revive the ancient university, and a contemporary institute, Nālandā University, was established at Rajgir.[43] It has been listed as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India.[44]

  1. ^ Hartmut Scharfe (12 November 2018). Education in Ancient India. BRILL. pp. 148–150. ISBN 978-90-474-0147-6.
  2. ^ Jose Ignacio Cabezon; José Ignacio Cabezón (31 January 2013). The Buddha's Doctrine and the Nine Vehicles: Rog Bande Sherab's Lamp of the Teachings. OUP USA. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-19-995862-7.
  3. ^ Buswell Jr., Robert (2013). "Nālanda". Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism: 565. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
  4. ^ a b Truschke, Audrey (May 2018). "The Power of the Islamic Sword in Narrating the Death of Indian Buddhism". History of Religions. 57 (4): 406–435. doi:10.1086/696567. ISSN 0018-2710. S2CID 165825418.
  5. ^ Sen, Amartya (17 November 2021). "Nalanda and the pursuit of science". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Nalanda". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  7. ^ Le 2010, p. 59.
  8. ^ "Alphabetical List of Monuments – Bihar". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  9. ^ Asher 2015, pp. 1–5.
  10. ^ Kumar (2018).
  11. ^ "History | District Nalanda, Government of Bihar | India". nalanda.nic.in. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  12. ^ Cochrane, Steve (2009). "Asian Centres of Learning and Witness before 1000 CE.: Insights for Today". Transformations. 26 (1). Sage Publications: 30–39. doi:10.1177/0265378809102174. JSTOR 43052754.
  13. ^ Chandra Ray, Sunil (1954). "Proceedings of the Indian History Congress". Indian History Congress. pp. 78–83. JSTOR 45436328.
  14. ^ Sankalia, Hasmukh (1934). "The University of Nalanda". Central Archaeology Library, New Delhi: B.G. Paul & Co. Publishers.
  15. ^ Pinkney 2014, pp. 116–117 with footnotes.
  16. ^ Kumar, Manoj. "Ancient Nalanda University" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  17. ^ Ingalls, Daniel H. H. (1976). "Kālidāsa and the Attitudes of the Golden Age". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 96 (1): 15–26. doi:10.2307/599886. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 599886.
  18. ^ Bhattacharya, Debaditya (3 September 2018). The Idea of the University: Histories and Contexts. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-81428-0. However, the impunity of populist narratives around the birth of the university-idea in Takshashila or Nalanda does beg a challenge on historical grounds. Though archaeological records and epigraphic-numismatic evidence have, beyond a doubt, proved the acclaim that both these places (as also Vallabhi, Vikramshila, Odantapuri and Jagaddala) enjoyed as centres of intellectual instruction, there may be precise historical arguments against discerning in them the early lineaments of a modern 'university
  19. ^ Lowe, Roy; Yasuhara, Yoshihito (4 October 2016). The Origins of Higher Learning: Knowledge networks and the early development of universities. Taylor & Francis. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-317-54327-5. Obviously, these Pala foundations cannot be thought of as a 'federal university' as modern institutions are, such as the American state universities or the University of Wales in Britain. These share a name and an academic office which oversees teaching and the award of qualifications." "The institutions we have mentioned so far are among the best known and best documented, but were far from unique.
  20. ^ Rury, John L.; Tamura, Eileen H. (17 June 2019). The [Oxford] Handbook of the History of Education. Oxford University Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-19-934004-0. Asia's first modern universities were only founded much later, beginning in the sixteenth century, and often infused with significant elements drawn from the West,
  21. ^ Smith 2013, pp. 111–112.
  22. ^ Krishnan 2016, p. 17.
  23. ^ Scharfe 2002, pp. 148–150 with footnotes.
  24. ^ Auer, Blain (2019). Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia. De Gruyter. p. 68. ISBN 978-3-11-063168-5.
  25. ^ "Nalanda: The university that changed the world". www.bbc.com. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  26. ^ Sen, Amartya (17 November 2021). "Nalanda and the pursuit of science". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024.
  27. ^ "ANCIENT NALANDA UNIVERSIty's RUINS | District Nalanda, Government of Bihar | India".
  28. ^ Dalrymple, William (2024). The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. Bloomsbury. p. 116. ISBN 9781408864418.
  29. ^ Sarma, V.K. (2001). "Āryabhaṭa: His name, time and provenance" (PDF). Indian Journal of History of Science. p. 105-115. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2010.
  30. ^ Wayman 1984, p. 43.
  31. ^ Niraj Kumar; George van Driem; Phunchok Stobdan (18 November 2020). Himalayan Bridge. KW. pp. 253–255. ISBN 978-1-000-21549-6.
  32. ^ Stephen Hodge (9 December 2005). The Maha-Vairocana-Abhisambodhi Tantra: With Buddhaguhya's Commentary. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-135-79654-9.
  33. ^ Collins 2000, p. 240.
  34. ^ Joshi 1977, p. 177.
  35. ^ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Entry for Nālandā.
  36. ^ Kumar, Pintu (2011). "The Ancient Nālandā Mahāvihāra: The Beginning of Institutional Education". The Journal of the World Universities Forum. 4 (1): 65–80. doi:10.18848/1835-2030/CGP/v04i01/56731. ISSN 1835-2030.
  37. ^ Sumersingh, DhirajsinghRajput; Gokarn, Rohit; Jagtap, ChandrashekharY; Galib, R; Patgiri, Bj; Prajapati, Pk (2016). "Critical Review of Rasaratna Samuccaya: A Comprehensive Treatise of Indian Alchemy". Ancient Science of Life. 36 (1): 12–18. doi:10.4103/0257-7941.195412. ISSN 0257-7941. PMC 5255965. PMID 28182027.
  38. ^ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Entry for Nālandā, Xuanzang and Yijing.
  39. ^ Śāntideva (1998). Translator's Note: The Bodhicaryāvatāra. Oxford University Press. p. xxviii. ISBN 978-0-19-283720-2.
  40. ^ Hodge, Stephen (9 December 2005). The Maha-Vairocana-Abhisambodhi Tantra: With Buddhaguhya's Commentary. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-135-79654-9.
  41. ^ Lal Mani Joshi (1977). Studies in the Buddhistic Culture of India During the 7th and 8th Centuries A.D. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-81-208-0281-0.
  42. ^ "Four sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  43. ^ "History and Revival". Nalanda University.
  44. ^ "Vision". Nalandauniv.edu.in. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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