The University of Nalanda c11.3

c11.3

Before dealing with this aspect of their life we would just like to add a note on the word ‘Pandita’ which we will use, frequently, hereafter. It was used in a two-fold sense at Nālandā. Ordinarily it meant a professor. But there was another meaning and that was of greater importance. At the University of Vikramaśīlā (800 A.D.) ‘Pandita’ was a degree that was conferred on its successful candidates, while at Nālandā, it appears that it was a distinctive title bestowed upon the head of the University.¹