Nalanda University, Features, Significance

Nalanda University, established in the 5th century CE in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar), is recognized as the world’s first residential university. It attracted scholars from India, China, Tibet, Persia, and other parts of Asia. In the 7th century CE, notable Chinese scholars I-Qing and Xuan Zang visited Nalanda and documented their experiences in detail.

However, Nalanda University faced destruction in 1193 AD at the hands of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji. To revive this historic institution, the Indian government enacted the Nalanda University Act in 2010, which implemented decisions made at the East Asia Summit to establish a new Nalanda University.

Nalanda University History

Nalanda University was established in the 5th century CE, and became a prominent hub for Buddhist studies, attracting students and scholars from various regions. Kumargupta I of the Gupta dynasty founded Nalanda Mahavihara in 427 CE located in present-day Rajgir, Bihar. 

• Contribution by Palas: The Palas were known to be Buddhists. An inscription from Nalanda records that Dharmapala & Devapala gifted villages for the upkeep of the monastery.
• Nalanda received royal patronage from Harshavardana (606-648 C.E.) and the 7th-century king of Assam, Bhaskaravarma.
  • Along with this, it got grants from many foreign rulers as well.
• Destruction: The university was destroyed at the end of the 12th century by a Bakhtiyar Khilji. 
• Rediscovery of site: The Nalanda University site was first rediscovered in 1812 by Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton. Although he noted the presence of ruins and Buddhist images, he did not initially connect them to the famed Nalanda University.
  • This connection was later made by Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1861, who identified the site as the ancient university.

Nalanda University in Modern Era

In modern times, efforts have been made to revive Nalanda as a centre of higher education, leading to the establishment of the new Nalanda University in 2010, which aims to promote international learning and research. The site of ancient Nalanda was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, highlighting its historical and cultural significance.

Nalanda University Features

Nalanda University, designated as an Institute of National Importance (INI), is the flagship project of the Ministry of External Affairs. It symbolizes India’s rich cultural and historical legacy and plays a key role in the revival of Sanātana Dharma in the country.

• Diverse Curriculum: Nalanda offered a wide range of subjects, including philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and logic, reflecting a holistic approach to education that encouraged critical thinking and interdisciplinary studies.
• Complex and Artworks: While the original Mahavihara was a much larger complex, the surviving remains of Nalanda consist of 11 viharas and 14 temples, along with many smaller shrines and votive structures.
  • These remnants demonstrate key attributes of the site, such as axial planning and a layout along a north-south axis.
• Artworks: Its stucco, stone, and metal art retain iconographic features that enabled changes in the Buddhist belief system and the transition from Mahayana to Vajraya
• Library: It had a nine-story library where monks meticulously copied books and documents so that individual scholars could have their collections.
• Accommodation: It had dormitories for students, perhaps a first for an educational institution, housing 10,000 students in the university’s heyday and providing accommodations for 2,000 professors.
• Sariputra’s Stupa: Although the site was a pilgrimage destination from the 1st Century A.D., it has a link with the Buddha as he often came here and two of his chief disciples, Sariputra and Moggallana, came from this area.
• Naropa’s Cell: One of the cells belonged to Naropa, who was instrumental in bringing Buddhism to Tibet, along with such Nalanda luminaries as Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava
• Buddhist scholars had studied and taught at Nalanda including Nagarjuna, Dharmapala, Dharmakirti, Dinnaga, Jinamitra Santaraksita, Padmasambhava, Candrakirti, Silabhadra, and Atisa.
  • Aryabhata is thought to have led the university in the sixth century CE.

Nalanda University Significance

Nalanda is a rare combination of outstanding achievements in institution-building, site-planning, art and architecture. In 2016, UNESCO designated “The Excavated Remains at Nalanda” as a World Heritage Site.

• Centre of learning: Nalanda symbolized the multiplicity of knowledge production, the innovative processes of the organized transmission of ideas through education, and the shared heritage of people living in multiple regions of Asia.
• Continuity in contemporary times: Earning the title of ‘Medieval School of Discussion and Logic’, Nalanda`s scholars mastered the art and science of debate developing it into a critical tool for higher learning.
  • Today, the continuity of its systems is also evident in contemporary monasteries in Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Nepal.
• Basis of Mahaviharas: Nalanda is recognized as one of the earliest and most enduring institutions dedicated to education.
  • Its methods of pedagogy, administrative practices, planning, and architectural designs served as the foundation for the establishment of subsequent Mahaviharas.