Nalanda

Why Nalanda is famous

• •The full record: WIKIPEDIA'S INFOBOX: official name 'Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar'; criteria Cultural iv and vi; REFERENCE 1502; inscription 2016, 40th Session; inscribed area 23 ha (57 acres).
• •Two in ten: The same source reports rigorous ENTRANCE EXAMS where only 2 OUT OF 10 APPLICANTS were admitted, and that Xuanzang left detailed accounts of daily life, the debate culture, the library system and the exams.
• •What was taught: One source lists Buddhist philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, astronomy and metaphysics. Another lists Mahayana, Hinayana, Sanskrit grammar, the Vedas and Samkhya. Students came from China, Central Asia, Korea and Tibet.
• •A named head of the institution: One source, citing TARANATHA, states that NAGARJUNA — the 3rd-century Mahayana philosopher — was chief of the institution, and that his contemporary SUVISHNU constructed around 108 temples in the area.

History at a glance

1. 3rd century CE
   Taranatha records Nagarjuna as chief of the institution, and Suvishnu building around 108 temples in the area.
2. 427 CE
   Nalanda Mahavihara is founded under King Kumaragupta I.
3. 5th-6th century
   The Mahavihara prospers under Gupta patronage, and later under Emperor Harsha of Kannauj.
4. 7th century
   Xuanzang arrives and studies for five years, leaving detailed accounts of courtyards, classrooms, debate culture, the library and the entrance exams. I-tsing also visits.
5. 9th century
   Devapala patronises Nalanda. A copper plate records an endowment by BALAPUTRA, MAHARAJA OF SRIVIJAYA; the Ghosrawan inscription records his patronage of the scholar Viradeva, who became head of the Mahavihara.
6. Pala period
   One source says tantric tendencies in Buddhism during Pala rule saw an eventual decline. Another says other Buddhist centres emerged nearby, diverting attention.
7. c. 1193-1200
   Bakhtiyar Khilji's army sacks Nalanda. The library, Dharmaganja, is reported to have burned for three months. One source says the site was destroyed three times by invaders, the last in 1193 by the Turkish army; Wikipedia dates the ransacking to c. 1200.
8. c. 1400
   Wikipedia gives the site as abandoned around 1400 CE.
9. 1915-1937
   The first systematic excavation campaign, under a named succession of archaeologists.
10. 1951
    Nava Nalanda Mahavihara is established by Rajendra Prasad, first President of India, to revive Buddhist culture and education. It becomes a deemed university in 2006.
11. 1974-1982
    A second excavation campaign.
12. 2016
    UNESCO inscribes the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at the 40th Session, under cultural criteria iv and vi, reference 1502.

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