# Ancient Buddhist University - Nalanda (India) # Nālandā was an ancient centre of higher learning in Bihar, India. The site is located about 88 kilometres south east of Patna, and was a religious centre of learning from the fifth century AD to 1197 AD. Nalanda flourished between the reign of the Śakrāditya (whose identity is uncertain and who might have been either Kumara Gupta I or Kumara Gupta II) and 1197 AD, supported by patronage from the Hindu Gupta rulers as well as Buddhist emperors like Harsha and later emperors from the Pala Empire. #Nalanda is also condiered as first education centre in #Asia for higher studies. The complex was built with red bricks and its ruins occupy an area of 14 hectares. (488 by 244 metres) At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia Nalanda was ransacked and destroyed by a Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. The great library of Nalanda University was so vast that it is reported to have burned for three months after the invaders set fire to it, ransacked and destroyed the monasteries, and drove the monks from the site. ###Famous Scholars associated with Nalanda Nalanda was visited by both Mahavira and Buddha in sixth and fifth centuries B.C. It is also the place of birth and nirvana of Sariputra, one of the famous disciples of Buddha. Many of the famous Buddhist scholars had studied or taught at Nalanda including #Nagarjuna - formalised the concept of Sunyata #Dinnaga - founder of Buddhist Logic #Dharmapala -, the teacher of Xuanzang #Candrakīrti #Śīlabhadra #Dharmakirti - logician #Jinamitra #Santaraksita - founded the first monastic order in Tibet #Padmasambhava - master of Tantric Buddhism #Atisa
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 15:42:40 +0000
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