Short Article
06-07-2024 | 16:09 PM
Nalanda University
Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the new Nalanda University campus near the ancient ruins of Nalanda in Rajgir, Bihar.
Key Highlights
- Location: Present day Rajgir, Bihar
- Founder: Kumar Gupta (Shakraditya) of the Gupta dynasty in the early 5th century and was the world’s first residential university.
- It prospered for 600 years until the 12th century.
- It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2016 by UNESCO.
- It has been listed as an ‘Institute of National Importance’ by the central government.
- It offers postgraduate (PG) and PhD research courses and short-term certificate courses.
Monastic-cum-scholastic features of Nalanda University:
- In ancient times, it was primarily a place where monks and nuns lived and studied.
- The head of the institution was known as the “Mahathera” or “Great Elder.”
- It used to teach all major philosophies of Buddhism.
Foreign Travellers Account of Nalanda University
- Hiuen Tsang: During King Harsha's reign, Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited and stayed in Nalanda both as a student and a teacher and wrote a detailed account of the university.
- Fa-Hien: 1st Chinese Buddhist pilgrim.
Major Scholars
- Nagarjuna (Madhyamika Shunyavad)
- Aryabhatta, the astronomer.
Destruction and Rediscovery
- It was destroyed in the 12th century AD by Bakhtiyar Khilji (Turkish ruler & Qutbuddin Aibak's general).
- It was rediscovered in 1812 by Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton.
- Later officially identified in 1861 by Sir Alexander Cunningham
