Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s2.t15.1

v1.c7.s2.t15.1

Founded by King Dharmapala (783-820 CE) and located near Bhagalpur in Bihar, Vikramaśīlā Mahāvihāra [university-monastery] was an important centre of education and learning in eastern India for more than four centuries of the Pāla rule (750-1175 CE). In Tibetan accounts, which are the main sources of information, Vikramaśīlā Mahāvihāra holds the same position of pre-eminence as is accorded in Chinese accounts to Nālandā. The Pāla patronage of the Buddhist *mahāvihāras* was a step towards reorganisation of Buddhist education in the emerging socio-economic conditions, with the specific purpose of reviving Buddhism in India and protecting their commercial interests in the Buddhist kingdoms of South East, North and North East Asia.