{"id":31467,"date":"2025-03-25T08:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T03:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=31467"},"modified":"2025-04-16T12:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T06:42:07","slug":"vikramshila-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/vikramshila-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikramshila University"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Vikramshila University Latest News<\/h2>\n<p>Vikramshila University Set for Revival in Bihar<\/p>\n<h2>Why in the News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>After <strong>Nalanda University<\/strong>, another ancient centre of learning in Bihar\u2014<strong>Vikramshila University<\/strong>\u2014is set for revival.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)<\/strong> is currently <strong>developing the ancient site<\/strong> to boost tourism.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Bihar government has identified 202.14 acres<\/strong> in <strong>Antichak village, Bhagalpur<\/strong>, for establishing a <strong>Central University<\/strong> at the historic site.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>project was approved by the Centre in 2015<\/strong> with an <strong>initial budget of \u20b9500 crore<\/strong>, but progress was delayed due to land acquisition issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About Vikramshila University<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Vikramshila University was situated in <strong>Bhagalpur, Bihar<\/strong>, along the banks of the <strong>river Ganges<\/strong>, making it a prominent historical site in eastern India.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Founder<\/strong>: The university was established by <strong>King Dharmapala<\/strong> of the <strong>Pala Dynasty<\/strong> during the late <strong>8th to early 9th century AD<\/strong>, as a response to the perceived decline in educational standards at <strong>Nalanda University<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Vikramshila University emerged as a leading hub for <strong>Tantric Buddhism<\/strong> and <strong>Vajrayana Buddhism<\/strong>, playing a pivotal role in the spread of these traditions.<\/li>\n<li>The university distinguished itself by specializing in <strong>tantric and occult studies<\/strong>, setting it apart from <strong>Nalanda University<\/strong>, which offered a broader curriculum.<\/li>\n<li>During <strong>King Dharmapala\u2019s reign<\/strong>, Vikramshila exerted influence over <strong>Nalanda\u2019s affairs<\/strong>, highlighting its administrative and academic dominance at the time.<\/li>\n<li>It drew over <strong>1000 students<\/strong> and <strong>100 teachers<\/strong> from across India and beyond, reflecting its international reputation as a center of learning.<\/li>\n<li>The institution produced renowned scholars like <strong>Atisa Dipankara<\/strong>, who significantly contributed to establishing <strong>Buddhism in Tibet<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Vikramshila University boasted a <strong>central stupa<\/strong> encircled by <strong>208 cells<\/strong>, designed to house student-monks engaged in study and meditation.<\/li>\n<li>It included a <strong>library<\/strong> equipped with a unique <strong>cooling system<\/strong>, channeling water from a nearby reservoir to preserve delicate manuscripts.<\/li>\n<li>The curriculum encompassed a wide range of subjects, such as <strong>theology<\/strong>, <strong>philosophy<\/strong>, <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>metaphysics<\/strong>, <strong>logic<\/strong>, and <strong>tantras<\/strong>, showcasing its academic diversity.<\/li>\n<li>The university\u2019s administration was overseen by a <strong>Kulpati or Mahasthavir<\/strong>, a distinctive leadership role that ensured its smooth functioning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decline<\/strong>: Vikramshila University met its end when it was destroyed by <strong>Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji<\/strong> around <strong>1203 AD<\/strong>, an event that also marked the downfall of <strong>Nalanda University<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Vikramshila University FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1. <\/strong>What was Vikramshila University?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Vikramshila University was an ancient Buddhist learning center in Bihar, India, established by King Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty in the 8th\u20139th century CE. It was a major center for Buddhist studies, particularly for Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>Where was Vikramshila University located?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It was situated at Antichak in Bhagalpur district, Bihar, on the banks of the Ganges River.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>Why was Vikramshila University established?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It was established to revive and strengthen Buddhist learning, which was perceived to be declining at Nalanda University. It became a prominent center for advanced Buddhist education.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>What subjects were taught at Vikramshila University?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The university specialized in Buddhist philosophy, logic, grammar, metaphysics, and Tantra (Vajrayana Buddhism). It also had studies in Sanskrit, law, and other traditional sciences.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/after-nalanda-another-bihar-university-now-set-to-rise-from-the-ruins-9904222\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vikramshila University emerged as a leading hub for Tantric Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism, playing a pivotal role in the spread of these traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}