The University of Nalanda c13.195

c13.195

Others who did not want to serve the government, but still expected a reward for their wonderful ability "made their debut in the House of Debate." "They refuted the heretic doctrines of their opponents who became tongue-tied and acknowledged themselves undone."⁴ I-Tsing tells us that these eminent debators received grants of land; while others were advanced to a high rank and as a further reward, their names were written on their lofty gates.⁵ To what does the word 'their' refer is not clear. Takakusu admits that his rendering is only hypothetical. We can, however, give our conjecture as to what 'their' stands for. Probably 'their' refers to the Universities. For just as learned men were appointed as Doorkeepers in the Universities of Nālandā and Vikramaśilā, it is also possible that names of distinguished persons were written on the gates of the Universities. Another possibility is that 'their' stands for the 'House of Debate.' But here we are faced with a grammatical difficulty, because 'their' being plural cannot stand for the 'House of Debate.' Besides, we have not heard of any such custom, according to which, names of debators, who distinguished themselves in the controversy were affixed to the gates of the 'House', though there is nothing strange in it, as it would be a very good encouragement to the prospective debaters. We may, therefore, accept the former hypothesis that ‘their’ stands for the Universities.