Education in Ancient India c7.s5.15

c7.s5.15

Destruction of the University : In 1203, the Vikramaśilā monastery was destroyed by the Mahomadens under Bakhtyar Khilji, who seem to have mistaken it for a fort. At that time Śākya-śrī-bhadra was at the helm of the monastic affairs. The account of the destruction of the monastery has been preserved by the author of *Ṭabakāt-i-nāsiri*. We read, ‘The greater number of the inhabitants of the place were Brahmanas (i. e. Buddhist Bhikshus) and the whole of these Brahmanas had their heads shaven, and they were all slain. There were a great number of books on the religion of the Hindus there, and when all these books came under the observation of the Mussalmans, they summoned a number of Hindus that they might give them information respecting the import of these books; but the whole of the Hindus had been killed. On becoming acquainted (with the contents of those books), it was found that the whole fortress and city was a college’.¹ Śākya-śrī-bhadra and a few others, who escaped the general slaughter, fled to Tibet. Such was the tragic end of this famous college.