Education in Ancient India c7.s3: Nālandā
Education in Ancient India c7.s3
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Nālandā
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Early History
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Nālandā, about 40 miles south of Patna, was a famous Buddhist place since early times, as it was the place of the birth and death of Sāriputta, the right hand disciple of the Buddha. Asoka is said to have built a temple there. But its rise as a centre of learning has to be placed by about 450 A.D. ; for Fa Hsien, who visited the place in *c.* 410 A.D. does not refer to its educational importance.¹ Very soon thereafter Nālandā rapidly rose into importance owing to the patronage of a number of Gupta emperors. That the Gupta rulers, who were themselves orthodox Hindus, should have contributed a lion's share to the development, equipment and endowment of the greatest Buddhist University speaks volumes for the catholicity of the age. Śakrāditya, who was probably Kumāragupta I (414-454 A.D.), laid the foundation of the greatness of Nālandā by founding and endowing a monastery there. The splendid Buddha temple in this monastery was for centuries the central place of worship for the congregation. Tathāgatagupta, (who cannot yet be definitely identified), Narasimhagupta Bālāditya, (468-472 A. D.) and Budhagupta (c. 475-500 A.D.) added one monastery each to the establishment.¹ Vajra, an unidentified successor of Bālāditya, and another unnamed king of central India added two further monasteries to the establishment. New buildings continued to be erected by Hindu and Buddhist donors down to the 11th century.
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¹ According to Tārānāth, Āryadeva, a disciple of Nāgārjuna, was a Nālandā scholar. This, if true, would take back the antiquity of Nālandā by about a couple of centuries. The identity of both Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva and their precise time are not yet definitely determined. Bose, *Indian Teachers*, pp. 108-9.
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¹ The sequence of these rulers and their time, given both by Yuan Chwang and his biographer, seem to be wrong. See Watters, II p. 164; Life, pp. 110-111.
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The Lay-out and Buildings: Excavations have shown that Nālandā University covered an area at least one mile long and half a mile broad. Monastic buildings and stūpas attached to them were built according to a concieved plan; they were all arranged in a row and not huddled together in any haphazard fashion. The central college had seven halls attached to it; besides there were 300 smaller rooms for the lecturing work. The buildings were superb, several storeys in height. Hwui Li's statement that the upper rooms towered above the clouds and enabled a spectator to see how they changed their shape is of course an exaggeration, but it has now received an unexpected corroboration from a contemporary record which also avers that the tops of the buildings at Nālandā touched the clouds.² We may therefore take it that the towers and turrets of the colleges, temples and monasteries at Nālandā must have been of impressive height. There were also deep and translucent ponds covered with blue lotuses, which added to the beauty of the place and supplied water and flowers to the establishment. The whole colony was surrounded by an encircling wall with a door in the southern side.¹
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² यस्यामम्बुधरावलेहिशिखरश्रेणी विहारावली । मालेवोर्ध्वविराजिनी विरचिता धात्रा मनोज्ञा भुवः ॥ E.I., XX, p.48
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¹ Beal, *The Life of Hiuen Tsang* (by Shaman Hwui) pp. 109-114; Watters, II, pp. 164-171 and Itsing, pp. 30, 65, 86, and 154 are the main sources of information about Nālandā.
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Boarding and Lodging Arrangement: Monk-students were lodged in monasteries specially built for the purpose. Recent excavations have so far revealed the existence of thirteen such monasteries, and a glance at the topography shows that some more must have existed. Monasteries were at least two storeys in height and had both single-seated and double-seated rooms in them. Each room had one stone cot for each occupant and was also provided with nitches for lamp, books, etc. In one corner of the court-yard of each monastery, a well has been unearthed, showing that the problem of water supply was not overlooked. Rooms were assigned to the monk-students according to their seniority and redistribution took place every year. Hearths of huge dimensions have been discovered in each monastery, showing that the messing arrangements were common. The University had received 200 rich villages as endowment² and so could offer free boarding and clothing to its students. The usual practice in Buddhist monasteries was to offer these facilities to lay students, only if they agreed to perform some menial service.³ It is however possible that Nālandā may have offered free lodging and boarding to its lay students also,—who were usually Hindus,—in view of its having received so many endowments from Hindu patrons.
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² This is the number given by I-tsing, who had stayed at Nālandā for 10 years. Yuan-Chwang's biographer mentions only 100 villages in this connection. More villages may have been received in the interval between the two writers.
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³ I-tsing, p. 106. In medieval Christian monasteries, the practice was to offer free tuition to all those who intended to join the Order; the laity was expected to pay small voluntary fee for the education of its children. Graves, *A History*, p. 81.
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The Number of Scholars : When I-tsing was living at Nālandā (c. 675 A.D.), there were more than 3,000 monks residing in the establishment (p. 154). The biographer of Yuan Chwang states that in the second quarter of the seventh century the number of the residents of Nālandā would always reach 10,000 (p. 112). The biographer had never been to India and his information therefore was second hand. His figure seems to be a little exaggerated since it is given in round numbers, and since Yuan Chwang himself simply observes that there were some thousand brethren residing at the place (II p. 165). It would, however, seem certain that the actual number of the monks staying at Nālandā must have been at least about 5,000 towards the middle of the 7th century A. D.
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Both a Monastery and a University : Nālandā, however, was not a mere monastery ; it had obtained so wide a fame primarily because it was a very famous centre of learning. Yuan Chwang says, ‘In the establishment were some thousand brethren, all men of great learning and ability, several hundreds being highly esteemed and famous ; the brethren were very strict in observing the precepts and regulations of their order ; learning and discussing they found the day too short, day and night they admonished each other, juniors and seniors mutually helping to perfection. Hence foreign students came to the establishment to put an end to their doubts and then became celebrated, and those who stole the name (of Nālandā) were all treated with respect wherever they went’ (II, p. 165). The names of deep scholars and skilful debators, who had distinguished themselves at the University, used to be written in white on the lofty gate of the University for being known to every fresher and visitor (Itsing, p, 176).
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High Standard of Piety and Scholarship: The head abbots of Nālandā used to be as much celebrated for piety as for scholarship. Amongst them were ‘Dharmapāla and Chandrapāla, who gave a fragrance to the Buddha’s teachings, Guṇamati and Sthiramati of excellent reputation among contemporaries, Prabhāmitra of clear argument, Jinamitra of elevated conversation, Jinamitra of model character and perspicacious intellect and Śīlabhadra whose perfect excellence was buried in obscurity’¹ These scholars were not, however, content merely to teach and expound; they were authors of several treatises, widely studied and highly valued by their contemporaries. The above seven scholars flourished in the first half of the 7th century; the total number of high class scholars produced at Nālandā during its history of about 700 years must have been very great. At the time of Yuan Chwang’s visit the average scholarship of the establishment also was very high. Out of its 5,000 (or 10,000) monks, there were a thousand who could explain thirty collections of Sūtras, and perhaps ten who could explain fifty.²
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¹ Watters, II p. 165,
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² Life, p. 112.
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Rush for Admission from India and Abroad: There was a great rush for admission to the Nālandā University. Students from all parts of India and also from distant foreign countries were anxious to get the benefit of its instructions. Fa Hsien, Yuan Chwang and I-tsing were not the only Chinese scholars that were attracted to Nālandā by its fame as a centre of learning. During the short interval of thirty years between the visits of Yuan Chwang and I-tsing, Thon-mi, Hiuen Chiu, Taou-hi, Hwui-nieh, Āryavarman, Buddhadharma, Taou-sing, Tang and Hwui Lu, hailing from distant countries like China, Korea, Tibet and Tokhara had visited Nālandā and spent considerable time there in studying and copying manuscripts.¹ The standard of admission was naturally high; ‘of those from abroad, who wished to enter the schools of discussion, the majority, beaten by the difficulties of the problems, withdrew; and those who were deeply versed in old and modern learning were admitted, only two or three out of ten succeeding²’.
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¹ *Life*, Introduction, pp. XXVII-XXXVI
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² Watters, II, p. 165
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Library Facilities: The Nālandā authorities had realised that a monastery without a library was like a castle without an armoury. The University was maintaining a splendid library to meet the needs of the hundreds of teachers and thousands of students that were engaged in the study of different sciences. One of the reasons why Chinese scholars used to spend months together at Nālandā was to get true copies of the sacred texts and other works of Buddhism. I-tsing got copied at Nālandā 400 Sanskrit works amounting to 5,00,000 verses. Significantly enough the library quarter was known as *Dharma-gañja* ‘Mart of Religion.’ It was located in three splendid buildings appropriately called *Ratna-sāgara*, *Ratnodadhi* and *Ratnarañjaka*.⁴
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⁴ Vidyabhushana, *History of Indian Logic*, p. 516
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Lecturing Arrangement; Strength of Classes: In the monk population of about 5,000 (perhaps 10,000)
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³ I-tsing, p. 1
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a thousand could explain, as we have seen already, twenty collections of Sūtras. This means that there were about a thousand competent teachers to look after the education of about 4,000, but in no case, more than 9,000 monk students. On the average therefore each teacher was in charge of about not more than nine students. Personal attention was thus possible to each student and the teaching therefore must have been very efficient. The college had eight big halls and 300 smaller apartments and every day the authorities used to arrange for about a hundred lectures. Learned monk teachers were held in high veneration and were provided with sedan chairs. They were experts in the art of teaching and expounding; I-tsing gratefully observes, ‘I have been very glad that I have had an opportunity of aquiring knowledge personally from them, which I should otherwise have never possessed.’
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Curriculum: The curriculum at Nālandā was very comprehensive and catholic. The establishment belonged to the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism, but the works of the rival school, the Hīnayāna one, were also taught. This necessitated a study of Pali language, in which most of the Hīnayāna works were composed. Works of the famous Mahāyāna scholars like Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, Asaṅga and Dharmakīrti must have been specially studied. But it is not to be supposed that the curriculum of the University was a sectarian one in the sense that it neglected Hindu subjects. In the first place it must be noted that subjects like grammar, logic and literature were common to both the Hindus and the Buddhists. Secondly, we have to remember that Bauddha and Hindu religion and philosophy had become so intricately interconnected with each other that to study the one without the other had become practically impossible not only for the ambitious controversialist but also for the sincere lover of truth. Buddhists themselves inform us that the three Vedas, Vedānta and Sāṃkhya philosophy were taught at the University along with ‘miscellaneous works’¹. The latter expression probably included the study of subjects like Dharmaśāstra (sacred law), Purāṇas, astronomy, astrology etc., which were very important for the lay Hindu and Buddhist students. The study of medicine *cikitsāśāstra*) which is referred to in the sacred canon, was also prosecuted at the place.
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¹ Life, p. 112.
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Administration: At the head of the general administration was the abbot-principal, who used to be assisted by two councils, one academic and the other administrative. How these bodies used to function has been already described in the last chapter. To arrange for the free boarding and lodging of so vast a number of students as 5,000 (or perhaps 10,000) was a very costly affair; the University was enabled to do it because different kings had assigned the revenues of a large number of villages for the upkeep of the establishment. The number of these villages was 200 during I-tsing’s stay at the University (c. 675-685 A.D.). Sealings of a number of these villages, obviously attached to letters sent by them to the University administration, have been found in excavations.
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Later History; A Foreign Endowment : Nālandā continued to be a famous centre of learning down to the 12th century A. D. An 8th century inscription describes how it was then excelling all other towns and cities on account of its scholars who were well-versed in sacred texts and philosophy.¹ In the 9th century the University continued to enjoy international reputation ; Balaputradeva, a king of Java and Sumatra, being attracted by its fame, built a monastery there and induced his friend and ally, King Devapāla of Bengal, to grant five villages for its upkeep.² Part of this endowment was reserved for the purpose of copying books for the University library (*Dharmaratnasya lekhanārtham*).
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² Mahāvagga, Chap. VI.
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¹ *E. I.*, XX. p. 43.
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² *E. I.*, XVII, p. 310, Cf. :—
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Work in Tibet : From the 8th century onwards, the scholars at Nālandā began to play an active part in the propagation of Buddhist religion and culture in Tibet. Arrangements therefore must have been made for teaching Tibetan at the institution. Chandragomin, a Nālandā monk who flourished at the beginning of the 8th century A.D., was the pioneer in the field. Scores of his works were translated into Tibetan ; many scholars were in fact engaged in translation work. Śāntarakshita, another Nālandā monk and scholar, was invited to Tibet by its king Khri-sron-deu-tsan in 749 A.D. for the purpose of preaching Buddhism. He was given a royal reception and the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet was built under his instructions. He became its chief abbot and vigorously helped the spread of Buddhism till his death in 762 A.D. He received very valuable coopera-
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नालंदागुणवृन्दलुब्धमनसा भक्त्या च शौद्धोदनेः ।
नानासद्गुणभिक्षुसंघवसतिस्तस्यां विहारः कृतः ॥
. . . . .
सुवर्णद्वीपाधिपमहाराजश्रीबलपुत्रदेवेन वयं विज्ञापिताः ।
यथा मया श्रीनालंदायां विहारः कृतः । . . . . . ॥
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tion in this work from Padmasambhava, a Kashmirian monk educated at Nālandā¹. Intellectual and literary activity of Nālandā must have continued in subsequent centuries also, for several manuscripts have been preserved to this time, which were copied at Nālandā during the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries A.D.
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¹ Bose, Indian Teachers of Buddhist Universities, pp. 116-31.
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Supersession by Vikramasila University : Tārānāth informs us that the professors of Vikramasilā were often appointed to watch over the affairs of Nālandā by the Pāla rulers². From the 11th century onwards the new University of Vikramasilā began to receive a greater share of the royal patronage; this circumstance may have led to the decline of Nālandā during the 11th and 12th centuries. Evidence from the Tibetan sources shows that by this time Tantricism had aquired a hold over the Buddhist mind and it may have perhaps affected the progress of serious studies. We have, however, no definite evidence on the point.
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² Ibid, p. 86.
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The Destruction of the University : The ruin of the establishment was brought about by the Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khilji towards the end of the 12th century. The buildings were burnt or destroyed and the whole of the monk population was put to the sword. The priceless library of the university was also wantonly committed to flames. Thus perished this famous university at the hands of fanatic invaders who did not know its value.
Linked texts (3)
- Mahāvagga — Pāli
- Nalanda Plate of Devapāla, year 35 — Sanskrit
- Epigraphia Indica