NALANDA MAHAVIR

BY MISHEL AND ABHIRAM

• Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist monastic university in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.
Considered by historians to be the world's very first residential university, and among the greatest centers of
learning in the ancient world, it was located near the city of Rajagriha (now Rajgir) and about 90 kilometres (56
mi) southeast of Pataliputra (now Patna), operating from 427 to 1197 CE.
• Nalanda was regarded as an architectural masterpiece. Enveloped by a lofty wall and a huge gate, the
institution comprised of several temples, viharas (educational and residential buildings), compounds,
stupas, classrooms and meditation halls. Parks and lakes also adorned the institution’s grounds. The
excavated ruins of the institution indicate that bright red bricks were used in its construction.
• One of the highlights of Nalanda was its well-equipped and colossal library housed in three large multi-
storied buildings called the Ratnasagara (Ocean of Jewels), the Ratnaranjaka (Jewel-adorned), and the
Ratnodadhi (Sea of Jewels). Ratnodadhi was where the most sacred manuscripts of the institution were
kept and this building was nine stories high. 
LOCATION

• Nalanda is about 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the city of Rajgir

• According to the early 7th-century Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim, Xuanzang, the local tradition explains that
the name Nālandā came from a Naga – serpent deity in Indian religions – whose name was Nalanda. He offers
an alternate meaning "charity without intermission", from "na-alam-da"; however, this split does not mean this.
Hiranand Sastri, an archaeologist who headed the excavation of the ruins, attributes the name to the abundance
of nālas (lotus-stalks) in the area and believes that Nalanda would then represent the giver of lotus-stalks.

• In some Tibetan sources, including the 17th-century work of Taranatha, Nalanda is referred to as Nalendra, and
is likely synonymous with Nala, Nalaka, Nalakagrama found in Tibetan literature.
• The Nalanda Mahavihara site is in the State of Bihar, in north-eastern India. It comprises the
archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the
13th century CE.
• It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important art works in
stucco, stone and metal.
• It engaged in the organized transmission of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years. The
historical development of the site testifies to the development of Buddhism into a religion and the
flourishing of monastic and educational traditions.
• Their plan involves a rectangular form with a central quadrangular court which is surrounded by a verandah
which, in turn, is bounded by an outer row of cells for the monks - a typical design of vihara architecture.
• The central cell facing the entrance leading into the court is a shrine chamber. Its strategic position means that it
would have been the first thing that drew the eye when entering the edifice.
• With the exception of those designated 1A and 1B, the monasteries all face west with drains emptying out in the
east and staircases positioned in the south-west corner of the buildings.
• Monastery 1 is considered the oldest and the most important of the monastery group and shows as many as nine
levels of construction. Its lower monastery is believed to be the one sponsored by Balaputradeva, the Srivijayan
king, during the reign of Devapala in the 9th century.
• The building was originally at least 2 storeys high and contained a colossal statue of a seated Buddha.
• Temple no. 2 notably features 211 sculptured religious and secular panels.
• These include Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, and Gajalakshmi, Kinnaras playing musical instruments, various
representations of Makaras, as well as human couples in amorous postures, as well as scenes of art and of
everyday life.
• The site of Temple no. 13 features a brick-made smelting furnace with four chambers. The discovery of
burnt metal and slag suggests that it was used to cast metallic objects.
• Temple no. 3 (also termed Sariputta Stupa) is the most iconic of Nalanda's structures with its multiple flights of
stairs that lead all the way to the top.
• The fifth of these layered temples is the most interesting and the best preserved with four corner towers of which
three have been exposed.
• The towers as well as the sides of the stairs are decorated with exquisite panels of Gupta-era art depicting a
variety of stucco figures including Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, scenes from the Jataka tales.
• The temple is surrounded by numerous votive stupas some of which have been built with bricks inscribed with
passages from sacred Buddhist texts.
• The apex of Temple no. 3 features a shrine chamber which now only contains the pedestal upon which an
immense statue of Buddha must have once rested.
•  
• To the north of Temple 13 lie the remains of Temple no. 14. An enormous image of the Buddha was
discovered here. The image's pedestal features fragments of the only surviving exhibit of mural painting
at Nalanda.
• To the east of Temple 2, lie the remains of Sarai Temple in the recently excavated Sarai Mound. This
multi-storeyed Buddhist temple with many stupas and shrines was enclosed by a massive wall enclosure.
The remains in the sanctum suggest that the Buddha statue was around 24 metres (80 ft) high.
• Numerous sculptures, as well as many murals, copper plates, inscriptions, seals, coins, plaques, potteries and
works in stone, bronze, stucco, and terracotta, have been unearthed within the ruins of Nalanda.
• The Buddhist sculptures discovered notably include those of the Buddha in different postures, Avalokiteshvara, 
Jambhala, Manjushri, Marichi, and Tara.
• Brahmanical idols of Vishnu, Shiva-Parvathi, Ganesha, Mahishasura Mardini, and Surya have also been found in
the ruins.
• A Black Buddha temple (termed by locals as the Telia Bhairav, "tel" refers to use of oil) is near Temple 14 with
has an ancient large black Buddha image in bhumisparha mudra. This the same temple termed Baithak Bhairab
in Cunningham's 1861–62 ASI report.
• The remains of Nalanda today extend some 488 metres (1,600 ft) north to south and around 244 metres
(800 ft) east to west. Excavations have revealed eleven monasteries (also known as vihara) and six major
brick temples arranged in an ordered layout.
• A 30 m (100 ft) wide passage runs from north to south with the temples to its west and the monasteries to
its east. The map gives the layout of the excavated structures. Temple 3 in the south was the most
imposing structure.
• Temple 12, 13, 14 face the monasteries and face east. With the exception of those designated 1A and 1B,
the monasteries all face west with drains emptying out in the east and staircases positioned in the south-
west corner of the buildings. Temple 2 was to the east.
• Nalanda flourished on a sprawling campus in the medieval times, but only a small portion of that huge
campus has been excavated till date. Today, nothing more than the ruins of the Nalanda Mahavihara
remain on the site.
• However, due to its historical, educational, and religious significance, the ruins of Nalanda are
considered among the top historical places in and around Patna. It is also a top tourist attraction in India
and an important site for those exploring the Buddhist tourism circuit.
• The ruins of Nalanda have also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in India in 2016. Nalanda
University Archaeological Complex is currently owned, maintained, and protected by the Archaeological
Survey of India. The 30-acre excavation area also comprises a museum, temples, and ruins of other
structures.
• After its decline, Nalanda was largely forgotten until Francis Buchanan-Hamilton surveyed the site in 1811–
1812 after locals in the vicinity drew his attention to a vast complex of ruins in the area. He, however, did not
associate the mounds of earth and debris with famed Nalanda.
• That link was established by Major Markham Kittoe in 1847. Alexander Cunningham and the newly formed 
Archaeological Survey of India conducted an official survey in 1861–1862.
• Systematic excavation of the ruins by the ASI did not begin until 1915 and ended in 1937. The second round of
excavation and restoration took place between 1974 and 1982.