The Ruiers of the ancient Buddhist establishments of Nalandalfie close to the village of Bargaon, 90 kilometers South East of Patna and 12 kms North of Rajgir. Nalanda has a very ancient history going back to the days of Mahavira and Buddha in the 6th and 5th century B.0 Hiuen Tsang please refor it the renowned Chinese traveller of the 7th century A.D. Saya that according to tradition the place owed its origin at a mythical Naga of the name 'Nalanda' that lived in the near by tank. The third theory about the name of the place is that it derived from MALA+DA. Nalam means lotus which is a symbol for knowledge and DA means given the place of many lotus.
According to Taranatha, Anoka, the great Mauryan Emperor ill the third century B.0 gave offerition to the chaitya of Sariputra that axisted at Nalanda and erected a temple here, Asoka must herefore be winirded as the founder of the Nolanda vihara. Both the founders of Ilia two religions, Buddhism and Jiiinism. The Buddha and parsvitnath Mahavir, visited Nalanda.
The ruins of the wordls earlinnt university founded in 5th century A.D (415-455A.D) by emperor KiimaraGuptha. He also established a monastery at Nalanda. This great university of learning flourished until Ilia 12th century. The Chinese hionicler Hiuen Tsang spent 12 ywirs here both as student and Imicher. Nagarjuna, the Mahayana, Philosopher, Dinnaga, the founder of 11111 school of logic, and Dharmapala, 1110 Brahmin scholar, taught here. (ince 2,000 used . to teach and I1i3O00 students crowded its portals.
The great emperor Harsha vilulhana gifted a 24.4 meters high tipper image of Buddha raised by Putvavarman, the last of the race of Arinka-Raja. Belonging to the early nth century A.D and the illustrions iiiii:havardhana of kanauj (606-647 A H) He also built monastery of
The pale emperors held
iii.t India from 8th century to the
1..111 century A.D. The last emperor
I ilivirid pale in the latter half of the
The Muslim historian Minhaj
.Iiii.cribes how Mdhammed Bakhtivar
(end of the twelth century A.D)
Discovery or inaia our uuicie
fell upon and destroyed a city in western Bahir, which they called Bihar and was found to be a place of study (Tabaqat-l-nasiri) Taranatha says that the Turks conquered the whole of Magadha and destroyed many Monasteries, at Nalanda they did much image and the Monksfled abroad.
The first European account of the village Bargaon containing the ruins of Nalanda was given by Bucharon-Hamolton who visited the place in the 1838 A.D. and found here some Brahmanical and Buddhist images, Later Cunningham in 1862 A.D. found Vagisvari image inseription at Nalanda.
Today Nalanda is in Ruins the vast corridors are hushed and silent and a shadowy frame work of crumbling sand and stone. The ruins extend over alarge area and represent only a great stupa flanked by flights of steps and terraces, Votive stups and beautiful sculpture given the present day tourists a plimpse of the paspglory that once was Nalanda.
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