Nalanda Mahavihara , near Rajgir Hills, about 90 KM east of Patna , Bihar . Founded by Emperor Kumaragupta

 

Learning is being here,” calls out the rejuvenated Nalanda University, situated besides the picturesque Rajgir hills, about 90 km east of Patna in Bihar. An apt description for a place which is known as the first international residential school in the world, established roughly 500 years before the famed Oxford University. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new campus of the varsity on June 19,2024.

Although its history goes back to the times of the Buddha, the ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’, as it was known then, was founded in the 5th century CE by Emperor Kumaragupta, and it flourished for the next 700 years, promoting a syncretic learning experience.

The first residential university of the world was sustained by the conscientiousness of the learned monks and teachers, which included masters such as Nagarjuna, Aryabhatta and Dharmakirti. At its peak, it is believed to have possessed 2,000 teachers and 10,000 students.

Chinese travellers Hiuen-Tsang, who wrote detailed accounts about the university and was a student there himself for five years, says in his memoirs that there was a rigorous oral entrance test for students who wished to enrol and only about 20% qualified. The subjects that were taught at Nalanda included Buddhist scriptures (of both Mahayana and Hinayana schools), philosophy, theology, metaphysics, logic, grammar, astronomy and medicine.

The varsity attracted scholars to its campus from places as distant as China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia. Those scholars have left records about the ambience, architecture, and learning at Nalanda, as well as about the profound knowledge of Nalanda teachers. The most detailed accounts have come from Chinese scholars.

Who found it first ?

The ruins of the seat of learning were first rediscovered in 1812 by Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton. Later, in 1861, it was officially identified as the ancient university by Sir Alexander Cunningham. It was in March 2006, while addressing a joint session of Bihar State Legislative Assembly, that the late former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, proposed the revival of the ancient university.

The ruins of the university had till then been a mere fascinating subject for historians and archaeologists.