Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s2.t14.4

v1.c7.s2.t14.4

Nālandā came into the limelight when the Gupta King Kumargupta I, also known as Sakrāditya, (c. 415-455 CE) selected this place as an "auspicious spot" for building a monastery. By the middle of the 6^th^ century CE, under the successive patronage of different Gupta rulers, it developed into a Mahāvihāra (large academic institution) with a huge campus. The majesty and grandeur of the campus, particularly its tall and stately towers soaring above the encompassing wall, caught and ravished the eyes of all who saw it. Benefactions of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj (606-646 CE) and the Pāla rulers, Dharmapala (783-820 CE) and Devapala, (c. 810-850 CE) further sustained the activities of Mahāvihāra till the end of the 12^th^ century CE.