The University of Nalanda c9.52

c9.52

And this saṅghārāma founded by Śakrāditya (afterwards identified with Kumāragupta I of the Imperial Guptas) was to be a residential University, and not a shelter for Bhikkhus to resort to for merely religious purposes. If any evidence be needed for this interpretation, it can be found in the words of the soothsayer.¹ They were elicited on account of the following circumstances.. The King Śakrāditya when he had selected a lucky spot in an auspicious moment, and when the work for digging up the place for laying the foundation was going on, the Nāga (evidently the Nāga of Nālandā) was wounded. To an Indian king, whether he be a Hindu or Buddhist, this is a sign of ill-omen, for reptiles of all kinds he held sacred, and specially among them, the Nāga or a cobra. The king perhaps must have consulted the soothsayer in order to know whether to proceed with the work or not. And what the soothsayer predicted really came true. He told the king, "This is a very superior site, if you build here a saṅghārāma, it must of necessity become highly renowned. Throughout the five Indies it will be a model. For a period of thousand years it will flourish still. Students of all degrees will, here, easily accomplish their studies. But many will spil blood because of this wound given to the Nāga."¹ His last words clearly show that he was no flatterer. He declared in clear, unequivocal terms what he thought to be the future of the University whose foundation stone the king was then laying down. Nālandā was to be a centre of learning of international repute. Nālandā was to be a battle-field where two faiths, opposite in character, were to contend against each other and destroy many a young scholar.