The University of Nalanda c2.19

c2.19

The history of Nālandā, based entirely on the Chinese and Tibetan sources and on the inscriptions of the Pālas, may be deemed one-sided as long as a confirmatory opinion is not available from the contemporary Hindu sources. The silence of Bāṇa, the famous contemporary historian of the Court of King Harṣa, with regard to Nālandā, is not a little surprising. If the Harṣa Carita were written after Harṣa built Saṅghārāmas at Nālandā, Bāṇa might have referred to it. It is possible that Bāṇa wrote the Harṣa Carita before Harṣa patronised Nālandā; but it is more probable that he passed over Nālandā as it was a Buddhist institution. However, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I have thought it expedient to rely upon the Chinese and Tibetan documents.