Rediscovering the Famous Nalanda University

Nalanda University is one of the traces of Ancient India. It was founded by Kumargupta-1 of the Gupta Dynasty(415-455 CE). Nalanda University is the ancient version of the most recent renowned universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, etc. The developers of the university made it huge in terms of courses, areas and backgrounds.

History of Nalanda Mahavidyalaya

The Nalanda University or Nalanda Mahavidyalaya was founded in 427 CE and is believed to have continued established for over 700 years. As a result, it witnessed some drastic changes in society such as wars, changes in political leaders and the Birth of many heroic intellectuals. 

It is believed to be bought for about 10 kotis, which is an old Indian currency by nearly 500 merchants. The merchants then transferred the ownership of the land and gave it to Lord Buddha, who worked under a Mango grove for several years. The building of Nalanda University was huge, comprising 8 monasteries, 3 libraries and approximately 2000 students. 

The university gained 200 nearby villages with the mutual agreement of Pala kings and all of these later attracted the Turk invaders in the upcoming centuries

The Holiness of the Education

The big campus of Nalanda Mahavidyalaya attracted students even from farther distances. It was a perfect example of inclusivity for the students that came from different backgrounds, i.e Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Iran, Greece, etc. However, the big campus also provided various courses in the fields of medicine, Arts, Literature, Philosophy, Economics, Mathematics, Law, Astrology and many more fields.

The Buddhist students were believed to attain Nirvana(Salvation) through the teachings of the Buddhist monks and the non-Buddhist were trained for the same. It is said to have the same level of education as we have in the case of American Ivy League colleges. And why not, it has a massive set of courses provided.

The Complex Admission Process

Nalanda University had a tough admission procedure. The monks there made it mandatory to learn religious and philosophical Hindu and Buddhist texts, which is a tedious task. Even after getting into the university, a student might encounter some difficult teaching methods such as Debates, Conversations and Tutorials. It is said that the process was as tough as giving modern-day SATs and IELTS exams.

The main thing associated with this university is to be well versed in the spiritual lessons and that was the main motive of the Buddhist teachers and preachers present there. They only consisted of the male candidates as their students because of the patriarchy and religion-based regime that was set off.

The Significant Architecture of Nalanda University

The different monasteries of Nalanda University imply different purposes in the different religious prospects of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Buddhist monasteries depicted the figures and carvings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Whereas, the Hindu ones illustrated the various gods and goddesses.

The Gupta dynasty made many advancements in the architecture of the University. They installed a 6-level pavilion and a 24-meter-high copper buddha statue. The 7th century had one more brass monastery that was built by the Emperor Harshvardhana of Kannauj.

How Destruction Was Carried Out?

The person behind the destruction is known as Bakhtiar Khilji, who is a native Afghanistani. He destroyed the nearby areas of the campus in order to get gold, food supplies and horses. He also looted the nearby villages and Buddhist monasteries making him powerful and richer. The Turkish were the ones who left the place deserted after a century they invaded Nalanda University.

The modern-day reports about the devastation state that out of 98 monasteries, only 2 survived the attacks, and all the temples were destroyed. The eastern and western walls were too abducted. The University was as destroyed as the forest fires destroy a forest.

The 9 million scripts were burned live and thousands of monks were burned and beheaded, Khilji was against he Buddhism, and thus he crossed all the limits of humankind.

Modern Day Nalanda University

In the year 2010, a bill was proposed, to revive the ancient Nalanda University in the Indian Parliament. The bill was made into law on 14th September 2014, in order to bring fresh candidates to acquire education and start modern-day education. The selection process was again very tedious and made only 15 candidates join the university. 

Despite the international partnership with the universities such as Yale, Chinese Peking university and many more, it has become a total failure. The location of the new Nalanda University is Rajgir, which is situated at a 2-hour distance from the city of Patna. Even after the modern education facilities, the university is not gaining much importance as it was, during the ancient era. Thus making it a complete failure.

Written By: Khushbu Arora

Edited By: Nidhi Jha