When I was growing up, my father would often narrate stories about India’s glorious past. Tales of valor, invasions, and cultural brilliance dominated our conversations. Curiously, he emphasized ancient centers of knowledge like Nalanda and Takshashila. These institutions intrigued me deeply. A few years ago, I even wrote a post about these once-great universities that no longer exist.
Last year, when I learned that Abhay K – India’s first resident ambassador to Georgia and a seasoned diplomat – had written a book on Nalanda, my curiosity was instantly piqued. Naturally, I pre-ordered it, eager to explore one of India’s greatest institutions.
Nalanda runs 193 pages, with a striking 50-page bibliography. This is quite impressive for a book of its size. I have a fondness for well-researched literature, and Abhay K’s rigorous efforts clearly shine through.
Rediscovering Nalanda
This book is essential reading, especially for those whose knowledge of Nalanda stems from bedtime stories shared by grandparents. Surprisingly, modern literature about Nalanda is sparse. Though I secretly hoped for a documentary on Nalanda, Abhay K’s book fills a crucial gap.
Right from the opening pages, he grabs your attention. He takes readers back to Nalanda’s origins, its strategic location near Magadha (present-day Bihar) and its association with Gautam Buddha and his renowned disciples, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana.
It was Emperor Ashoka who first laid the foundation by building a stupa – still standing today – to honor Sariputra and constructed a vihara for Buddhist monks around the 3rd century BCE.
Abhay K details Nalanda’s evolution vividly. It wasn’t until the 4th century, under the Gupta dynasty’s patronage, that Nalanda truly flourished. Later, with the Pala Empire’s support, Nalanda reached unmatched heights of fame across Central, South, and East Asia.
Students embarked on arduous journeys, crossing deserts, mountains, and oceans to seek knowledge. Monks from China traversed the Gobi desert, Tien Shan mountains, Samarkand, Kashmir, Kannauj and Varanasi to reach Nalanda.
What I particularly enjoyed about the book are the lesser-known historical nuggets Abhay K skillfully reveals. History buffs will relish these insights. For example, he points out a significant historical site: “When Xuanzang visited Rajagriha, he came across a monastery and the Karanda pond, where Buddha used to bathe—a site that exists today within Venuvana.”
The detailed accounts of Chinese philosopher-monks Xuanzang and Yijing are central to the narrative. It was Xuanzang’s meticulous descriptions that helped rediscover Nalanda after centuries of obscurity. Their chronicles, along with inscriptions, confirm Nalanda’s former grandeur beyond doubt.
Life at Nalanda
Campus and Infrastructure
Abhay K’s exhaustive research is commendable. He methodically covers Nalanda’s history, literature, excavation layouts, and the structures unearthed – temples, monasteries, and stupas. Given that Nalanda sprawled over roughly 490 acres, retelling its detailed history was essential.
Academic Life
Some of my favorite sections were those describing life at Nalanda centuries ago. From rigorous admission processes to room allocations and diverse academic subjects, it was fascinating to learn about them all. Nalanda’s famed library, Dharmaganj (mountain of truth) is now the subject of legends. Interestingly, only 20% of aspirants were admitted into this coveted establishment – the rest were turned away.
Nalanda thrived for over seven centuries and in all that time, there was nothing else quite like it. It stood tall long before Universities of Oxford and Bologna, predating them by more than 500 years. And even after it vanished, its spirit, rooted in reason and open thought, kept echoing through Asia.
“Nalanda Mahavihara fulfilled all the criteria of a modern university. The evolution of Nalanda from a Vihara founded by Emperor Ashoka in 3rd Century BCE into a Mahavihara with a well-laid out plan with multiple monasteries, developed infrastructure, large endowments, its own walled residential campus, international students where a variety of disciplines, including secular disciplines, were taught by the best scholars of their time, is how the idea of a university evolved in its true sense over centuries and spread to Central Asia, Europe and the rest of the world.”
Abhay K.
Eminent Scholars and Scientific Inquiry
Later chapters extensively cover the biographies of around 50 local and international scholars who studied at Nalanda. While enthusiasts might appreciate these detailed accounts, casual readers might find them tedious, given the nearly 30 pages dedicated to them. Historical records suggest that between 3,000 and 10,000 monks studied there at its peak.
The book eloquently highlights the scientific inquiry ingrained in India’s cultural psyche, thanks largely to institutions like Nalanda. Renowned scholars like Patanjali and Nagarjuna produced monumental works here, including Mahabhasya and Madhyamika.
Aryabhatta, known for inventing the concept of zero as a digit, proposed Earth’s rotation around its axis – a full millennium before Copernicus and Galileo. Abhay K also cites how Brahmagupta’s astronomical treatise, Brahmasphutasiddhanta, was translated by the Arab astronomer al-Fazari into Sindhind, introducing Indian mathematics to the Arab world.
Xuanzang wasn’t the only one; after spending seven years teaching and studying at Nalanda, he took 657 palm-leaf manuscripts back to China. In China, he translated a portion of these texts, helping spread Buddhism. His disciples introduced the doctrine to other parts of Asia, primarily Japan. It’s no surprise that Xuanzang is often cited as the monk who brought Buddhism to the East.
Abhay K bravely tackles darker historical truths as well. He discusses Islam’s destructive impact on Buddhism across Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and parts of Iran.
Nalanda suffered a similar fate in the late 12th century when the Turko-Afghan invader Bakhtiyar Khilji decimated the Mahavihara, massacred Buddhist monks and set its vast libraries ablaze. An estimated nine million scriptures were lost.
While Khilji’s brutal invasion signaled the beginning of Nalanda’s downfall, the book also points to a combination of other forces – political instability, the withdrawal of royal patronage and the rising influence of Hinduism and other sects – as key contributors to its eventual demise.
Conclusion
The only hiccup in this engaging narrative is the frequent long citations from historical texts which slightly disrupting the otherwise smooth flow. While Abhay K writes effortlessly, these excerpts from ancient manuscripts sometimes feel dense.
Beautiful color photographs of Nalanda’s well-preserved ruins and the newly established Nalanda University complement the narrative splendidly. These images vividly bring to life the grandeur that once was and the homage being paid today.
Finally, Nalanda by Abhay K is a vibrant tribute to a lost gem of ancient India. It resurrects Nalanda’s grandeur in public memory, weaving together history, philosophy and academic prowess. For anyone interested in India’s forgotten educational heritage, this book is a compelling, insightful read. It will leave you deeply appreciative of Nalanda’s enduring legacy.
©BookJelly. All rights reserved