Nalanda University - Who Destroyed Nalanda University

Nalanda University – Who Destroyed Nalanda University

Who Destroyed Nalanda University: Hey, guys welcome back to my website once again today we have brought a historical story for you. Do you know which was the world’s first international university? Today we will discuss one such unique university in the shining history of education. The story starts from a university which was one of the oldest universities in India and the world – Nalanda. Nalanda Vishvvidyalaya which we also call Nalanda University.

Table of Contents

About Nalanda:

Nalanda is derived from three Sanskrit words “Na + Alam + Da” which means “No one can stop the donation of knowledge” which is an unstoppable flow of knowledge. It was constructed 1500 years ago by Kumar Gupta Pratham in 450 AD. There were more than 10,000 students and more than 2700 teachers. Students who got admission to Nalanda did not have to pay any fee. The local kings here bear all the expenses of the student’s education. Because education is necessary for everyone, it is necessary to know the king of our time.

More about Nalanda

In Nalanda, students were taught many subjects including Literature, Astrology, Psychology, Law, Astronomy, Science, Warfare, History, Maths, Architecture, Language Science, Economics, and Medicine. Not only India, but students from many other countries including Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Iran, Greece, and Mongolia used to come to Nalanda to study. During the excavation, remains of Nalanda University were found in 5 lakh square feet here. It is believed that this is only 10 percent of the university.

Who Destroyed Nalanda University?

Everything was destroyed despite being so good or maintained so well, that is what I heard right, Nalanda University was destroyed. This university was completely destroyed by the attack of Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. It is said that, during the invasion, fire was set here and In this attack, many religious leaders and Buddhist monks working here were killed alive. About 90 lakh texts and books, which contained knowledge of everything from Ayurveda to space, were all burnt to ashes in this terrible fire. Behind all this was a cruel ruler Bakhtiyar Khilji

The loss of this university was not only a loss for India, it was a loss for the entire world. There was a library named ‘Dharma Gunj’ at Nalanda University. It meant ‘Mountain of Truth’. There were lakhs of books in this library at that time which were destroyed at the time of the attack and kept burning for three months.

These books were written when the printing press did not exist i.e. all these books were written by our great scholars till now no copy of any kind exists which is a huge loss for India. Nalanda University spread the light of its knowledge in India as well as throughout the world for almost 800 years.

Why did Bakhtiyar Khilji burn Nalanda University?

Bakhtiyar, from Afghanistan, had come to Delhi and Awadh to find work, but he did not achieve any success there. Within a few years, he earned a place in the Indian cavalry army and fought several battles with the army of the Ghud state. After hearing about his bravery, he was made the head of the army under the commander of Awadh. He was given the task of taking over the villages on the border of Bihar, and after this, he started attacking and capturing various parts of Bihar.

During this time, Khilji’s health deteriorated. He got himself treated by many doctors, but he got only disappointment everywhere. Then someone told him that his disease could be cured by only one person – Acharya Sri Rahul Sri Bhadra, head of the Ayurveda department of Nalanda University. Khilji thought that when people of his own religion could not cure him, then how could an infidel of another religion do so, but still he reached Nalanda to meet Rahul Shri Bhadra Ji. He challenged him that if he was really so knowledgeable and powerful, then he would cure him without any medicine or touching him.

Rahul Shri Bhadra accepted his challenge, he gave the Quran to Bakhtiyar Khilji and said that by reading the Quran every day, all his diseases would be cured. Khilji started reading the Quran regularly, and gradually his health started improving and he became completely fine. Actually, Rahul Shri Bhadra had applied medicine on the pages of the Quran, and when Khilji read the Quran every day, he unknowingly consumed that medicine. Normally, after recovering from a long illness, a person becomes happy and thanks the doctor, but when Khilji came to know that his illness was treated by an infidel, his mind was filled with insecurity and jealousy.

He did not accept that an infidel had cured his disease which no one else had been able to do, and hence he decided to destroy this ocean of knowledge. Khilji attacked Nalanda University with his army and set it on fire. Thousands of intellectual students and teachers died in this terrible fire, and this university was lost in the pages of history along with all its knowledge.

There was a new twist in this story. When Francis Buchan Hamilton, a Scottish physician, surveyed the site, he recognized some Buddhist monks there as the same area mentioned in the travelogue of Chinese traveller Yun Tsang. To confirm this, the ASI began excavations in the area, and eventually in 1915 discovered the remains of 11 monasteries and six temples, as well as a palisade that was 30 meters wide. From all these excavations, it was estimated that Nalanda was spread over an area many times larger than the area being excavated.

Over the years, the Archaeological Survey of India has found copper plates, artful sculptures, coins, and seals there. In the State Legislative Assembly of Bihar, a proposal was made to re-establish the ancient Nalanda University. This was the first step towards reviving that great university. In the year 2010, the Nalanda University Act was passed, and finally in September 2014, after a long time of 800 years, the doors of this university were opened to the students. It was a historic victory for India.

How to reach Nalanda

Nalanda is located in the state of Bihar and is well-connected by road to all major parts of the state. It is located not far from Rajgir and Patna, which have very good rail and air connectivity respectively. Here’s how to reach Nalanda:

The Distance From Patna Is Approx. 83Km Via NH431
The Distance From Dhanbad Is Approx. 250Km Via NH19-NH20
Google Map: Ruins Of Nalanda University

By Air

Patna’s Loknayak Jaiprakash Airport is about 78 km from Nalanda. The airport is well connected by flights to major Indian cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru etc. From the airport, taxi services are available to Nalanda.

By Train

Rajgir is the nearest railway station, located about 12 km from Nalanda. Trains from Delhi, Patna, and Gaya stop at the station. From the station, one can hire a taxi to Nalanda.

By Road

Nalanda is well connected by road. State-run buses run regularly from Patna, Bodhgaya, Rajgir to Nalanda. Will Nalanda University be able to maintain its same identity? what do you think of this? Please let us know in the comments. If you liked this article of ours, then like it, share it, and yes, do subscribe to Go Travel Blogger’s YouTube channel for more unseen stories.

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