Nalanda was the most
renowned university in ancient India. It derived its name
from Na-alam-da, meaning Insatiable in Giving, one of the
names by which the Lord Buddha was known.
Established in the 5th
century B.C. it remained a live center of learning till the
12th century A.D. when it was destroyed by the invader
Bakhtiar Khilji. Lord Mahavira and the Buddha both taught
here for years. Hsuan Tsang. the Chinese traveler studied
here in the 7th century A.D. and there is a monument in his
memory. He was one amongst many of those from East and
Southeast Asia who came here to study logic, meta-physics,
medicine, prose composition and rhetoric. The university of
Nalanda offered free educational and residential facilities
to as many as 10,000 students and 2000 teachers, for it was
supported by a number of villages. Its library, Ratna Sagar,
is believed to have contained nine million volumes. It is
not surprising, then, that the destruction of this
university dealt a crippling blow to Buddhist education in
India.
The Archaeological Survey of
India maintains the Nalanda Museum across the road which
houses some exquisite bronzes of the 9th and 10th centuries,
Pala dynasty, and other remains excavated at the site. The
beautiful Thai Temple and the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, a
centre for research in Pali and Buddhist studies, are 2 kms
from the main site.
