Nalanda University

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  那烂陀寺
• Japanese :  ナーランダ

Nalanda literally means the place that confers the lotus. Nalanda University had been established by the 5th century BCE. Later, the university became an important Buddhist centre of learning, at its peak accommodating up to 10,000 students. Among the famous teachers there was Nagarjuna. The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century.

The Buddha is believed to have visited it and given sermons near "the Mango Grove of Pavarika".

In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was sacked by Turkish Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as a milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. Fortified Sena monastaries along the main route of the invasion were destroyed and being off the main route both Nalanda and Bodh Gaya survived. It is said that Khalji asked if there was a copy of the Koran at Nalanda before he sacked it. 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 the responsible for the sudden demise of ancient Indian scientific thought in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and anatomy. However many instituions off the main route such as the Jagaddala Monastery in northern Bengal were untouched and flourishing.

A vast amount of what is considered to be Vajrayana actually stems from the late (9th-12th century) Nalanda teachers and traditions. Other forms of Buddhism, like the Mahayana found their genesis within the walls of the ancient university.

A number of ruined structures survive. 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.

In 1951, a modern centre for Pali (Theravadin) 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.