The University of Nalanda c8.39

c8.39

We have seen how *vihāras* and *Saṅghārāmas* sprung up. We are told *vihāras* were built for mainly two purposes.⁷ First, that the Buddhist *Saṅgha* may meditate in peace and safety. Second, that learned men may lodge in the *vihāras*. Gradually, however, the second object became the only object. As *vihāras* became repositories of learned men, they began to attract students from various parts of the land whose sole object was the acquisition of knowledge.