Nalanda University

Education is a platform for young generations to be educated and prepared for the future. Education gives people the knowledge and skills they need to be employable. Because of its evolution from ancient to modern education, the Indian education system is widely popular and diverse among other countries' education systems. Students were educated in such a way by teachers during the ancient and medieval periods of education that they could survive and exist in that era. In this topic, we will learn about the history of one of the most famous and advanced universities of ancient India, the history of Nalanda university.

Where is Nalanda University Situated

The next question in our mind is Where the Nalanda University Situated? Bihar's Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) Nalanda Mahavihara, also known as Nalanda University, is the second UNESCO-designated world historic site in Bihar. From the 3rd century BCE through the 13th century CE, it was a Buddhist monastery and a place of enlightenment. The famed era itself is described as a walk down a corridor lined with magnificently maintained stupas, viharas, and shrines.

For almost 800 years, Nalanda has been unequivocal about Buddhism as a religion and has addressed its teachings. Scholars from all across the world participated in the legendary Vedic learning, including those from China, Tibet, Korea, and Central Asia.

The historical setting of ancient Nalanda resulted in its emergence as an uncontested centre of learning. An intellectual ferment unlike any other known to humanity characterised ancient Magadha. What made Nalanda so appealing to all searchers of knowledge was its ability to blend diverse discourses and accept knowledge in its fullness. According to historical sources, the University had a lengthy and famous history that spanned about 800 years from the fifth to the twelfth centuries CE. It was a wholly residential university with 2,000 lecturers and 10,000 pupils, according to reports. The architectural components of the Nalanda ruins indicate the holistic nature of knowledge sought and transmitted at this university. It alludes to a harmonious coexistence of environment and man, as well as living and learning.

Scholars came from all over the world to study at Nalanda, including China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. These experts have left an indelible mark on the atmosphere, architecture, and education at this one-of-a-kind university. Chinese scholars have provided the most extensive accounts, the most well-known of whom is Xuan Zang, who brought back hundreds of scriptures that were later translated into Chinese.

Nalanda was a wholly residential institution with 2,000 lecturers and 10,000 students, according to legend. The architectural elements of the ruins of Nalanda indicate the holistic character of the information sought and given at this university.

Nalanda Vishwa Vidyalaya History

Nalanda is a historic university and Buddhist monastic centre in central Bihar, northeastern India, southwest of Bihar Sharif. The Buddha (6th–5th centuries BCE) and Mahavira, the founder of the Jaina religion, are both mentioned in Nalanda's traditional history. According to a later Tibetan tradition, Nagarjuna (a Buddhist philosopher who lived between the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE) began his studies there. However, extensive excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India reveal that the monasteries' foundations date from the Gupta period (5th century CE). Harshavardhana, the great 7th-century monarch of Kanauj (Kannauj), is said to have contributed to them.

During his reign, the Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited Nalanda and provided a detailed account of the disciplines studied there as well as the community's basic characteristics. Another Chinese traveller, Yijing, a generation later, also published a detailed account of the monks' lives. Under the Pala dynasty (8th–12th century), Nalanda flourished as a centre of study and became a centre of stone and metal religious sculpture. Nalanda was most likely sacked and never recovered during Muslim incursions in Bihar (around 1200).

The monasteries of Nalanda were enclosed by a high wall from Gupta times, according to pilgrim reports. The excavations uncovered a row of ten monasteries built in the traditional Indian style, with cells opening onto four sides of a courtyard, the main entrance on one side. A row of larger brick and plaster shrines, or stupas, stood in front of the monasteries. On seals recovered there, the entire complex is described as Mahavihara ("Great Monastery"). Many of the valuables discovered in the excavations are housed in a museum in Nalanda. The ruins were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.

Who Founded Nalanda University?

• Kumargupta I of the Gupta dynasty constructed Nalanda Mahavihara. 

• The Mahayana monks Asanga and Vasubandhu are supposed to have discovered Nalanda between 400 and 500 AD. 

• During Harsha's reign, Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang wrote a detailed account of Nalanda University.

• Nalanda was a massive monastic-educational complex.

• Sanskrit is used for instruction.

• Mahayana Buddhism was the primary subject of instruction, although other secular subjects such as grammar, logic, epistemology, and science were also covered.

• There were lively arguments and conversations going on.

• Harsha is supposed to have invited a thousand educated Nalanda monks to attend the Kanauj philosophical meeting.

• Itsing, a Chinese scholar, stated that Nalanda housed 2,000 students and was supported by revenue from 200 villages.

• Thus, until the 12th century 1193 AD, when Turkish ruler Qutbuddin Aibak's general Bakhtiyar Khilji demolished Nalanda University, the university remained a hub of intellectual activity.