Nalanda

Source- This post on Nalanda has been created based on the article “Of a gilded past and the future: Nalanda’s lost glory and new-found ambitions” published in “The Hindu” on 18 July 2024.

About Nalanda

1. Nalanda was an ancient centre of learning and a revered Buddhist site. It was rediscovered in the 19th century, its history goes back to the Gupta dynasty.

2. It was founded by Emperor Kumaragupta-I of the Gupta dynasty around 427 AD.

3. It flourished with the support of the Pala kings and the monks of Nalanda, who were patronized by the Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya.

4. It served as a university where students studied music, Sanskrit, astronomy, yoga, Ayurveda, and philosophy.

5. Nalanda’s faculty included renowned names in Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism, such as Aryabhata, Harsha, Dharmapala, Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti, and Silabhadra.

6. Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang spent five years at Nalanda during the reign of Harshavardhan in the 7th century, documenting its rigorous admission tests and scholarly environment.

7. It is recognized as a celebrated Buddhist site after Alexander Cunningham identified it based on Hiuen Tsang’s travel notes and epigraphic records.

8.  A king of Sumatra once requested a Pala king’s permission to endow a monastery at Nalanda, highlighting its international connections.

9. Decline and Destruction:

i) It was attacked and ransacked by Bakhtiyar Khalji around 1200 AD, resulting in the destruction of its vast collection of books. Satish Chandra’s “History of Medieval India” and Minhaj-i-Siraj’s “Tabaqat-i-Nasiri” detail these raids.

ii) Historian D.N. Jha contested claims of Nalanda’s destruction, suggesting Bakhtiyar Khalji captured a different fortified monastery, not Nalanda.

iii) Namit Arora argued that many Buddhist sites were abandoned or converted into Brahminical sites before the Turko-Persian invasions, with Nalanda being rediscovered only in the 19th century.

10. Rediscovery and Revival

i) Nalanda was brought back to public memory in the 19th century.

ii) The new Nalanda University campus was inaugurated at Rajgir, aiming to restore its ancient glory.

UPSC Syllabus: History