The University of Nalanda c8.35

c8.35

Originally the *ārāmas* had no fence. But, afterwards the Blessed One allowed the *Bhikkhus* to have a fence made of bamboo-sticks, thorns or a ditch⁴. But once the thin edge of the wedge was in, the *Bhikkhus* pressed on their demands still further. As the *vihāras* became permanent places of residence, the want of *Bhikkhus* increased. To protect these rich *vihāras*, as they had now become, containing provisions not for a day but for months, they were fenced round by a wood, brick, or a stone-wall,⁵ as we find in the case of Nālandā⁶ and the Odantapuri *Vihāras*.