NALANDA UNIVERSITY
There are many old universities in the world but one of them is Nalanda University. Nalanda University located in Bihar state of India is one of the oldest universities in the world. It was famous and famous all over the world. Today it has become a tourist destination.
Let us know about it –
Nalanda University – It was an important and famous centre of education in India. It was a Nalanda University located in the Nalanda district of Bihar where students from India and abroad came for education. This university is known in a new way
We would like to tell you that it is 90 km from Patna and 12 km south of Bihar Sharif. It is located on the campus of the ancient Buddhist university Nalanda. There were 2000 teachers to teach about 10000 students. The famous Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang spent ten years here as a student and teacher in the 7th century.
History of Nalanda University
There is a lack of definite information about the establishment of this university, however, the first founder of this Buddhist Sangha was the Gupta dynasty ruler Kumar Gupta (414-455). According to Xuanzang, in 470 AD, Gupta Samrat Narsingh Gupta Baladitya built a beautiful temple in Nalanda and installed an 80-foot-high copper statue in it.
Establishment of University
Guptkalin Samrat Kumar Gupta Pratham established Nalanda University in 415 – 454 AD.
Nalanda is made up of two Sanskrit words nalan + da. In Sanskrit, Naam means lotus. Kamal is a symbol of knowledge. Nalam + da means one who gives lotus knowledge. After the establishment of the Mahavihara, it was named Nalanda Mahavihara.
Maharaj Sakaditya Samvat: Gupta Vashiye Samrat Kumar Gupta developed this place as a university in 415 -455 A.D. After that, other kings as his successors built many Vihars and Universities here. Among them, Gupta Samrat Baladitya built a beautiful temple here in 470 and installed an 80-foot-tall statue of Lord Buddha.
Students from Java, China, Tibet, Sri Lanka Korea etc. used to come to study in this university.
When Xuanzang came to India, there were 8500 students and 1500 teachers at Nalanda University. Its main teachers were Shilbhadra, Dharampal, Chandrapal, gunmati, sthiramati, Prabhat Mitra, dining, Gyan Chandra, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asham Dharmakirti etc.
Studying conditions for students
According to the description of people, Nalanda University had excellent living conditions for students. It is mentioned that there were eight schools and 300 rooms in the university. It is mentioned that there were schools and hostels in several blocks. There were terraces in each block for students to take a bath. When it was excavated, its vastness and grandeur were known. No fee was charged to the students for education, accommodation, food etc. All the facilities were free here. The university was run by the donations given by the king and the rich people of that time. The buildings here were vast, grand and beautiful. Art was abundant here. Evidence of Buddha’s statues is found here.
- In this university, teaching was done in the Palai language.
- Rooms were made for the students here with 10 feet thick walls which kept them cool and protected them from the heat.
This university was destroyed in the 12th century due to the attack of Bakhtiar Khilji. Earlier only a colony was built here, which gradually transformed into a large university. This university was continuously receiving financial help and protection from the secret and open ministers of Naresh and Kanyakubajakya Harsh.
After Zhu Yuanzhang also, in the next 30 years eleven Chinese and Korean tourists came to Nalanda. The teachers of Nalanda University were famous in the world for their knowledge and methodology. Their character was entirely bright and without faults. There were strict rules for the students which were necessary to follow.
How was admission done?
The Chinese traveller Xuanzang studied Buddhist philosophy, religion and literature at Nalanda University. He studied there for ten years. According to him, it was not easy to get admission to this university. Only those students who had passed Higher Education could get admission here. To get admission, the students had to take an exam first. Admission was possible only after passing it. There were six doors in this university, there was a Pandit on each door. He used to take the same exam as the students before admission. Only 20 to 30 per cent of the students could pass this exam. Even after entering the university, students had to pass a lot of exams. And passing many exams was mandatory. Students who passed from here were respected everywhere. It was through Nalanda that Indian civilization and culture was propagated in Asia.
Nalanda’s libraries
So you know how many libraries there were at Nalanda University. Let me tell you that Nalanda University has three big libraries.
- Ratanodhi
- Ratansagar
- Ratna Ranjak
These libraries were so high that the mountains of their stories were higher than the clouds. In the morning, snow used to freeze on them. The colourful light of the Sun from these holes made the environment inside beautiful and formless. Sahastra wrote books in this library. In the Jain book ‘Sutrakritanga’ there is a description of the beautiful gardens named Hastiyaan of Nalanda. When Muslims attacked Bihar and Bengal in 1303, Nalanda too had to become a victim of the wrath of that war. In that war, all the bhikkhus were killed. The world-famous library was burnt down and reduced to ashes. All the beautiful feelings were destroyed and turned into a ruin. It is said that there were so many books in this library that when Bakhtiar lit it, it kept burning for three months. There were many amazing books in this library.
If you go there for a visit, then you will get to see just a few places of that university. You will see all the places in Nalanda University, where students study, and do Yoga. This is a very nice place for students to visit, where even today people from China and other countries come for a visit. A new university has been built under the name Nalanda University.
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