History Of Nalanda Mahavihara: An Ancient Buddhist University

Origins of Nalanda Mahavihara

Discuss about the History of Nalanda Mahavihara site.

Nalanda Mahavihara is an archeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery, which was built around the fifth century C.E. It was built originally by Emperor Kumaragupta I from the Gupta Dynasty, and during the later Gupta period, further expansions took place in the Monastery. The monastery served as the center of knowledge, and education, and in sense was one of the earliest universities (Agarwal 2016). It was built in the Magadha Kingdom (present day state of Bihar), in India (Pinkey 2015). The place remained as the centre of learning for nearly 700 years, until it was near completely ransacked, and the knowledge was lost and forgotten (Stewart 1989). This monastery/university used highly formal ways of teaching Vedas, a style which was used in some of the early teaching establishments in cities such as Taxila (which is an ancient city in Pakistan), Vikramashila (which was an ancient city in present day Bihar, India, and one of the most important centers of learning during the Pala Empire during 780 to 820 AD) and of course Nalanda. Nalanda experienced immense prosperity under the patronage of first the Gupta Empire and then under Kind Harsha. However, in the proceeding centuries, the university slowly started declining, under the Pala Empire. During its best days, the University drew students and scholars from far lands of China, Tibet, Korea as well as Central Asia and Eurasia. Also according to archeological evidence, they were able to make contact with the Shailendra Dynasty of Indonesia. Most of the existing information on this site is based on the writings of Yijing and Xuanzang, who were pilgrim monks from the Eastern Part of Asia. Subjects taught in the university included the Vedas, Mahayana and Hinayana (which are Buddhist philosophical texts), Sanskrit grammar, logic, numbers and medicine (Stewart 1989).  

Nalanda was a village which lay on the route that led to the ancient city of Rajagriha (or Rajgir), which was the capital city of the Magadha Kingdom. Many spiritually enlightened leaders such as Thirtankara and Gautam Buddha taught in this village, under a mango grove during the 5 and 6 century BCE. During the 3^rd Century BCE, emperor Ashoka constructed a temple in the village of Nalanda at a spot where one of the disciples of Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. According to Taranatha, a Tebetian Monk from 17^th century, other spiritual leaders such as the philosopher of Mahayana, Nagarjuna as well as his disciple Aryadeva also used to teach there. Another contemporary of Nagarjuna, named Suvishnu built 108 temples in that area. This showed a flurishment of Buddhism in Nalanda during that period. However, insufficient archeological evidence exists to verify such reports, and contradictory reports exists from the travel journals of Faxian, a Chinese Buddhist Monk, during the 5^th Century CE, where the only structure recorded was a single Stupa (which are small domes used by monks as chambers to meditate). The recorded history of the Nalanda Mahavihara starts during the Gupta Dynasty, as according to archeological evidence, a king named Shakraditya founded the institution. This was also confirmed through the journals of ancient travelers such as Xuanzang (from China) and Prajnyavarman (from Korea) (Stewart 1989). The monastery was further expanded by the successors of King Sharkaditya, as more monasteries and temples were built around it. The Brahmanical dynasty of the Gupta Empire also flourished consequently, and Nalanda experienced a continued phase of growth and prosperity. The emperor also built a giant statue of Gautam Buddha, and resembled the Bodhi Tree shading the vihara, as per Xuanzang. In the post Gupta period, several kings in succession continued building Nalanda, utilizing excellent craftsmanship. Duringng this period, a high wall with a Gate was also erected around Nalanda, by the King of Central India. Later a large bronze statue about 24 meters high was constructed by Purnavarman, who was known as the last of the descendants of Emperor Ashoka. A pavilion with six stages was also build by the same ruler in Nalanda. After the Gupta Dynasty declined, King Harsha, of Kanauj Empire in the 7^th Century became the patron of the Mahavihara. He converted himself to a Buddhist, and served the monks of the Mahavihara. King Harsha was a great supporter of the Mahavihara, he constricted a monastery made from Brass inside the Mahavihara, and provided them economic sustenance from the revenues of 10 villages, and under his direction, and 200 households provided the monks of the Mahavihara with their food and ration (Raj 2016). During the congregation of the Empire, almost a thousand monks were present. Such records have been chiefly based on the journals of Xuanzang and Yijing in the forms of ancient records of the Buddhist religion as it was practiced in the Indian subcontinent and Malayan archipelago (Up?asaka 1977).

Courses Taught at Nalanda Mahavihara

Xuanzang travelled from China to India during 630 to 643 AD, and visited Nalanda twice during that time, and spent about 2 years in the monastery. In Nalanda, he received a warm welcome, and was also given the name Mokshadeva, and also studied under Shilabhadra (who was the head of the institute). According to Xuanzhang, Shilabhadra was an incomparable teacher, who taught him Yogachara, which he was able to transmit partially to China.He also learnt other subjects taught in the Mahavihara, such as logic and grammar and later also taught there. He later returned to China with 657 Buddhist texts, most of them on the philosophy of Mahayana, and 150 relics carried on 20 horses. He translated 74 of those texts, and in the next three decades after the return of Xuanzang, about eleven other travelers from Korea and China were recorded to have visited Nalanda Mahavihara (Wriggins 1998). Yijing who was influenced from the stories of Xuanzang, visited Nalanda, where he stayed for 14 years, at the end of which he returned to China with over 400 texts in Sanskrit. He described Nalanda as having 8 large halls and about 300 rooms. He also reported that everyone at the Mahavihara stared their days with a series of rituals. A bell was rung every morning, which signaled the time to bathe, when hundreds of monks will go to the pools to take a bath. The sound of the gong was used to signal the time for prayers. In the evenings, chanting, learning of the scriptures and hymns were performed by the monks (Sen 2006).

Yijing also reported that Nalanda had an extensive library called the Dharmaganja which comprised of three multileveled buildings, one of which was nine storeys high and had some of the most sacred manuscripts such as the Prajanyaparamita and Guhysamaja. Although there is no fixed estimation to the number of books present in the library, however it ranges to about thousands (Gul and Khan 2008). The collection of books was in various topics such as literature grammar, logic, astronomy, medicine and astrology (Sen 2006). Xuanzang also reported that around the 7^th Century, Nalanda employed about 1510 teachers, out of whom 1000 were adept with the 20 collection of Sutras and shastras (which were ancient Vedic philosophies), while 500 were able to explain 30 collections and 10 were experts, being able to explain all 50 (Hanh 2001; McIntosh 2016)).

Nalanda was under a structured administration, with assemblies and consensus voting was used to make important decisions. Yijing wrote any new decision had to be made after a discussion in an assembly, and after a decision is made, each of the monks will be approached for approval of the decision. A single rejection will lead to the decision not being taken. Xuanzang also noted the disciplined nature of the monks, and the respect they had to the institution (Stewart 1989).

Nalanda is one of the most ancient institutes of knowledge in the Indian subcontinent, and one of the oldest Universities in the world. It served the purpose of growth and transmission of knowledge for more than 800 years. This institute also witnessed the growth of Buddhism and also the flurishment of the tradition of education and monastic life. The Mahavihara was the centre of learning from the 5^th century CE up to 1200 AD. Due to such rich historical significance, this site was named a ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO on 2016 (Whc.unesco.org, 2018; Chaudhary 2016). The Mahavihara also stands out in its planning and architecture, reflecting upon the artistic traditions of ancient India, and also served as prototypes for more constructions. It was the earliest planned university in the subcontinent, and was thus one of the most significant structures which aimed in the propagation of knowledge. The art and knowledge from Nalanda found its way to Thailand and Malayan Archipelago as well as Nepal, Myanmar and Tibet, where monasteries and educational institutes were modeled after Nalanda. The university shored that they were much ahead of its time in the way they used democratic system for administrative work. Also, they had rigorous screening process for the admission of students. The institute amalgamated the art and science of debate to a tool of higher education. The influence of this system can also be found in the monasteries of Sri Lanka, Nepal and Tibet. This showed how Nalanda was an influential institute, whose influences can still find its traces in our modern day civilization (Bhattacharyya and Guha 2016). The archeological remains of Nalanda Mahavihara, is a proof of the artistic and architectural ingenuity in its planning and layout of the institute. Moreover, the existing building materials found on the sites, its architectural display and various embellishments adorning the place is an ample proof of ancient wisdom and knowledge. It is also possible to understand the evolution of these art form and architectural knowledge by studying the structural remains of the layers of development of the Mahavihara that occurred in its almost 800 year lifespan. The two steps of structures, the Vihara (which was a residential and scholastic quarters) and chaityas (temples) which were commonly found in the Mahavihara. Their positioning in the premise is the evidence of a well planned layout followed by Nalanda. Nalanda also boasted a plethora of movable and immovable artifacts, which exhibits immense developments and changes in the Buddhist belief system (Upasak 2000).

Nalanda Mahavihara's Decline

The excavated remains are a proof of ancient pedagogy and philosophical discourses that influenced ancient Indian art, culture, architecture and belief systems. The structures also evidences an assimilation of developments in the various planning, architectural and artistic prototypes, which later served as an influence over the greater part of Asia. The remains also mark the early beginnings o0f systematic planning for an establishment of education. The systematic planning also ensured seamless development of the Mahavihara over the next few centuries, which have Nalanda a unique visual identity. Nalanda influence was also found among the Tebetian Monasteries and the monastic city of Paharpur, Bangladesh which is also now a UNESCO world heritage site. Interchange of architectural knowledge could be evidenced from the structural standardization of chaityas or temples, which as subsequently found in other cities like Gandhara, which shows how other Ancient cities exchanged architectural techniques for construction. The stucco of Nalanda have heavily influenced the architecture of Thailand, and the art of metal was also influenced the social life and art of Tibet, Burma, Malay Archipelago and Nepal (Ghosh 2017).

The Nalanda Mahavihara as a center of higher education marks the apex of the evolution of the monastic establishment, making it the earliest planned university, built in medieval India. The establishment was able to use a merit based approach and was open to all forms of contemporary knowledge sources and learning systems which were practiced in the Indian subcontinent. The scholarships provided by the Mahavihara were a proof of the importance of knowledge and education during that period. The institute amalgamated the basics of Indian systems of logic and philosophy, the principles of Yogachara, debates and madhamika schools, as tools of imparting knowledge to its students. Such influences survive till today in the form of cultural customs still followed by several sects of Buddhism in Asia and several modern day educational establishments which are named after this ancient relic (Bhattacharya and Guha 2016).

Conclusion

The Nalanda Mahavihara is thus the proof of the development in knowledge and education in ancient Asia, and is a significant contributor to the philosophical discourse of the Ancient civilizations. It served as the prototype on which many other institutions of knowledge was built and thus can be considered as one of the most important artifact of the rich cultural heritage of the ancient world. With several prominent leaders of the ancient world being the patrons and educators in Nalanda, its reaches spread far and wide, attracting people from distant lands. Such ingenuity impressed the ancient foreign travelers, who marveled at the success and well planned administrative prowess of the institute. It is therefore vital that such sites for heritage be well preserved, as its history serves as a beacon of knowledge, and highlights a focus of the ancient civilization on knowledge. This shows a different aspect of a rich cultural history that thrived under a peaceful leadership and I believe such serves as an inspiration for our modern world.

References:

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