The Story of the Great Nalanda University

 India is one of the leading contributors of international migrants with a whopping 32 million Indians settled in different parts of the world. The Indian diaspora is spread across all parts of the world.

Ever wondered why Indians are in high demand globally???

The Indian education system is robust that delivers highly skilled individuals, hence they are in high demand, especially for highly skilled jobs. Some Indian universities are ranked among the top global universities. Indians are also believed to be hardworking and extremely reliable. But is this only the current scenario?

 Throwback to the reigning period of Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty in the 5th century CE. He, built Nalanda University to impart an excellent system of education to its students. Located in the primaeval Magadha region (modern Rajgir), which is about 90 kilometres from Patna towards the Southeast, it is the world’s oldest residential university i.e. the students and scholars who came from all around the world, received On-campus facilities. From then onwards, students from all over Asia including China, Persia, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Greater India started coming here to seek knowledge. In the past and to date, the university maintains international standards housing over 2700 faculty members from across the globe. The list comprises faculties from Iran, China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, Persia, etc. Students at Nalanda studied the Vedas, logic, and Sanskrit grammar,  and were also trained in fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics, and the art of warfare. The Nalanda University has produced many remarkable scholars which include Dharmapala, Vasubandhu, Suvishnu, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Harshavardhana, Shantarakhsita, Aryadeva, Nagarjuna, Padmasambhava and Xuanzang. It’s also speculated that Aryabhata, the revered scholar and Indian mathematician was the Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University. This university had a vast library that took months to burn and destroy.  It was called Dharma Gunj which means the ‘Mountain of Truth’. The library was so vast that it was divided into three main complexes coined – ‘Ratnasagara-The Sea of Jewels’, ‘Ratnaranjika- Delighter of Jewels’ and ‘Ratnodadhi-The Ocean of Jewels’, which were each almost nine stories tall, the Dharma Gunj was a treasury of the Buddhist knowledge all over the world embodying thousands of volumes of some very rare manuscripts and parchments. This pride of India boasts over 750 years of existence, thousands of travellers, pilgrims, scholars, and students from all across the globe. Listed as an “ Institute of National Importance” by the Government of India and UNESCO World Heritage Site, this was invaded thrice. During the reign of Skanda Gupta, the Huns had tried to ransack the university, however, it was restored and extended more by Skanda Gupta’s successors. The Goudas then attacked the university for the second time but it was once again revived by Harshavardhana. But the biggest tragic incident was the third invasion which took place in 1193 CE. The Turkish army, led by Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji brought this university to ruins. It is said that he was disturbed by the fact that an Indian scholar and teacher knew more than the doctors of his court, Khilji decided to destroy the roots of knowledge, Buddhism and Ayurveda, from the country in a fit of rage. He set fire to the great library of Nalanda which kept burning for about 3 months and burned down nearly 9 million manuscripts.

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