Revival of Nalanda University in the offing

by Prof. Purnima Velamuri

Bihar, a State in India, has a rich and diverse cultural wealth. It ranges from traditional to contemporary forms of expressions manifested in different languages and dialects. Art and architecture, literature, oral traditions and performance cultures abound. In fact, Bihar was the cradle of Buddhist civilisation in India.

Years back Nalanda, a village 80 Km from Patna the capital of Bihar State, was in ruins. But today an attempt is being made to bring it back to its lost glory.

Nalanda was one of the great universities in recorded history. Its past remained shrouded in Mystery for long and despite untiring efforts, several layers remained concealed.

Today although the actual site lies in ruins almost as a member of an era that saw India leading in imparting knowledge to the world, there are plans to ‘revive’ it with professors roped in from Abroad to teach subjects that we've been masters of since time immemorial.

Residential centre

Nalanda was the largest residential centre of learning that the world had ever known. Nalanda also occupies a special place, in the history of Buddhist art. It not only added a few interesting facets but also a general polish of its own. Such was the fame of the school that its influence can be seen in Pan-Asian Buddhist art as well. Although the excavated ruins at Nalanda and the extent remains from there are quite extensive, yet these are merely a clue to the actual splendour of the site. Archaeology will probably never be able to provide, like the proverbial tip of the ice berg, more than a hint of the wonder that was Nalanda.

Monastic University

The history of Nalanda goes back to the days of the Buddha when the town was home to Nalanda Mahavihara, a monastic university of international repute. There are many versions of what the name Nalanda means one is that Nalam (Lotus) and DA (to give) combine to mean ‘Giver of the Lotus’ since lotus is supposed to represent knowledge, Nalanda means ‘giver of knowledge'.

It is believed that the Nalanda University was founded in the 5th century by the Gupta Emperors. But there are facts to suggest that it existed much before the recorded history. The earliest account about Nalanda is available in Pali literature. It mentions Nalanda along with Rajgir which was the capital of the powerful Magadhan Empire.

Origin

The origin of Nalanda cannot but be a matter of speculation on the basis of literary sources alone. And in this sphere, too, it behoves us to strike a balance between the legends in early Pali and Sanskrit texts and the accounts of Chinese pilgrims.

Contribution of Nalanda in the field of grammar, philosophy, fine arts, logic and metaphysics, is referred to by the famous Chinese Bhikkhu. Scholar and an alumnus of Nalanda Maha Vihara – Hiuen Tsang (Xuan Zang). Although Nalanda is situated in the neighbourhood of Rajagaha and along one of the pilgrim routes connecting Budha Gaya with Vaishali, it was not a place of pilgrimage in the strict sense of the team.

The real history of Nalanda is still obscure despite the excavations. Historians believe that Nalanda became prosperous after Fa-Shien's visit in the early 5th century, since there is no description of the monument in his writings. Ancient Buddhist sources say that Asoka, the Mauryan Emperor built a temple at Nalanda in the 3rd century, Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna studied and taught there in the 2nd century. He was a master of Ayurveda and Siddha sciences of healing.

Chinese pilgrims

The most detailed account of the Nalanda University, however, comes from the works of Chinese pilgrims Hiuen Tsang and Yijing. According to Chinese accounts, Houen Tsang notes that there were ten thousand Bhikkhus living at the Nalanda monastery. Students learned Buddhism, Vedas, Philosophy, Logic, Theology, Grammar, Astronomy, Fine Arts, Mathematics and Medicine.

The place witnessed the rise and fall of many empires and a long succession of kings from 5th to 12th century, after the Parinibbana of the Buddha. Among them were, King Asoka and King Harshavardhana. Clearly by the time Hiuen Tsang reached India, Nalanda Monastery had become the pre-eminent educational institution in Asia/ In fact, he seems to have heard about its fame when he was in China. Nalanda attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.

Among all the books that were written about Nalanda, Chines traveller Yijing's books provide the most detailed records on the ancient university right from the history of the place to its archaeological distributions. He stayed at Nalanda for 10 years and on his return to China translated a number of of Buddhist Sutras brought from India.

Afghanistan

Yijing states how most of the Bhikkhus from ancient Korea and Vietnam, Tukharna in todays Afghanistan and Segadiana in present day Samarkhand, Uzbekistan – studied in Nalanda during Maghadan Empire in India. The most famous of all ancient Indian universities was Nalanda. It magnificently contributed to the world culture in different ways. Undoubtedly, Nalanda was one of the glorious spots of knowledge which illuminated not just India but its neighbouring countries.

Apart from Nagarjuna, some of the renowned scholars intimately connected with the ancient university were Asanga, Vasubandhan, Dinnga, Dharmapala, Silabhadra and Vajrabodhi.

Nalanda contributed to Indian thought and culture all through its existence.

By about the 12th century A.D., when there was political instability in the the country following the end of the Gupta and Harsha dynasties, Nalanda's slow decline started, particularly with the deprivation of Royal patronage. The invaders from Turkey took advantage of India's weak political situation. During the Afghan invasion of Bihar led by Mohammad Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1190s, the vast libraries of Nalanda were put on fire.

Monasteries were destroyed and several monks were killed. Some of the surviving monks dispersed and fled with a few bundles of holy texts concealed under their robes and found security in countries such as Nepal, Tibet and China. The Persian historian Minhaj-1-Siraj, in his chronicle Tabaqat-1-Nasiri, reported that 'Thousands of Bhikkhus’ were burned alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism.

Library

The burning of the library continued for several months and smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pail over the low hills. Countries such as Afghanistan and Korea where Buddhism was flourishing at one time later became victims of aggressive religious prosyly tization.

Today, Nalanda is in ruins but it still imparts the scholarly look. In the words of Jeffrey E. Garten, former Dean of the Yale School of Management, “Nalanda Represents much of what Asia stands for – a great global university that has deep links with Asia's rich cultural heritage.” Recently the Indian government has taken steps to restore this ancient university by inviting international faculty and students.

In 2006, India, China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand proposed a plan to restore and revive the ancient site as Nalanda International University.

This plan is backed by the East Asia Summit which includes South East Asian Countries, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the US. A Nalanda mentor group is formed under the chairmanship of Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen to govern the university, the governments of China, Thailand and Japan have contributed to the corpus of the university including faculty and students – all of who will be internationally selected.

A huge amount of infrastructure including roads and an international airport at Gaya and job opportunities planned for Bihar.

Nalanda is on its way to become a centre of knowledge once again.