Education in Ancient India c7.s3.2

c7.s3.2

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.