Universities in Ancient India ([19--])

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^Education and Psychology Extension SeriesNo. 11

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Universities in Ancient India

D. G. APTE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGYHaharafa Sayajirao University of Baroda


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Re. 1


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Education and Psychology Extension SeriesNo. II

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Universities in Ancient India

D. G. APTEJ

\'. % ?^; ' '.FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY '4;

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Barod^

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Cornell UniversityLibrary

The original of tiiis book is intine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions inthe United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924005633130


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Editor's NoteThe ancient western world may fairly be said

to have possessed universities in which all the higherlearning' of the time was imparted. Such institu-tions existed during 200 B.C. in Alexandria, Athensand Constantinople and later at Berut, Bordeaux,Lyons, etc. But the growth of Christian sjiper-naturalism and mysticism, and the inroads of thebarbarians from the north and south had mostlyput an end to these before 800 A.D. After that theEastern Muslims founded universities in Bagdad,Basra, Cairo and other places, but most of thesecentres of learning came to an end early in thetwelfth century. Then arose in Spain at Cordova,Toledo, Sevilla, the universities of the WesternMuslims which after lasting for about a century weresuppressed by orthodox fanaticism about 1200 A.D.

The Muslim universities had taken a broadsweep including in their curriculum not only theliberal arts, but also medicine, philosophy and the-ology. When they were closed, Christian Europefelt the need for universities of their own andestablished them during the middle ages. The old-est among them which received official recognitionwere the Universities of Paris and Bologna foundedin the twelfth century. It is, however, claimedthat the University of Oxford dates back to theninth century and its foundation has been attribut-ed to King Alfred. This is not unlikely though theclaim is not substantiated by sufficient documentary


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evidence. The majority of the present universitiesin Europe and America are the offsprings of themedieval universities of Europe.

The universities of ancient India have aprouder history than that of their counterparts inthe ancient western world. At least one of them,viz., Takshaiila, flourished several centuries beforethe Universities of Alexandria, Athens and Con-stantinople. The universities of ancient India hadalso a more impressive teaching and research pro-gramrne. The teachers who taught in the hallowedprecincts of Takshaiiia, Nalanda and Vikrama^ilawere scholars of high eminence and repute. This isnot all. The cordial relationship that existed be-tween them and their students was indeed sublime.Such ideal teacher-student relationship has noparallel in the long history of educational thoughtand practice.

Today we have in India over thirty universitieswith an enrolment of about 400,000 students. It isdoubtful whether our university students have anyknowledge of the universities in ancient India, theirteachers and students and the studies pursued inthose centres of learning. This brochure dealingwith these aspects of universities in ancient Indiais meant primarily for our own university students.It is hoped that it would be useful also to thegeneral reader.

T. K. N. Menon,Dean,


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tJniversities in Anciefit IndiaIntroduction

The brochure contains a brief account of thefamous universities in Ancient India. The term!" university " as used here simply means a centrewhere higher education was imparted to aspiring stu-dents. It does not connote all the different featurespossessed by the universities in the East and theWest to-day. There were a number of importantfeatures in these universities, which do not find aparallel in our modern institutions going under thename. The following brief account of these univer-sities will enable the reader to have some idea ofeducation imparted in these institutions during thelong period of about 2,000 years beginning with theloth century B.C. and ending with the I2tli centuryA.D. It is hoped that a perusal of this bookletwill enable him to compare our present institutionswith those of ancieiit India and realise that thecentres of higher learning in ancient India wereunique in their organization and scholarship duringthose distant times when elsewhere in the worldvery few had thought of organised, education at theuniversity level.


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'Takshasila ( i.ooo 6.C, to 500 A.t).History

Takshasila is the oldest among the universitiesin ancient India. It was well known as a centre oflearning as early as during 700 B.C. The educationalactivities at this place must have started at least afew centuties earlier. The place derived its namefrom Taksha, a son of Bharata. The Ramayana nar-rates how Bharata, after defeating the Gandharvas,founded the two famous citiesTakshaiila in theGandharva Deia for Taksha and Pushkalavata fortlie other son Pushkala in the Gandhara. This isalso the place where king Janamejaya performed hisfamous serpent-sacrifice * to avenge the death ofhis father tarikshita. Until very lately it was notpossitile to locate the place exactly. Pliny has point-ed out that the place was situated at a distance ofabout fifty-five miles to the east of the river Sindhu.Witli the help of the numerous Stupas, Viharas iandtemples as found out by Cunningham, the situationof the city has now been exactly located. Archaeo-logical findings show that the city covered an areaol six square miles. A copper-plate inscription bear-ing the name of Takshalila has also been unearthedfrom the site. The place is situated twenty milesto the west of Rawalpindi, somewhere near Shah-

* Sarpasatra


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dheri at a distance of one mile to the south-east ofKalaksarai.Administration

Takshasila came to be known as a famouscentre of higher education because several learnedteachers who were recognised as authorities on vari-ous subjects resided at the place. It was becauseof their excellence that they could attract hundredsof students from distant parts of the sub-continent,in spite of the long and dangerous journey whichthey had to undergo. There was nothing by wayof co-ordination of the work done by teachers norwas there any external authority like the king orthe local leaders to direct their activities. Eachteacher was an institution in himself and enjoyedcomplete autonomy in his work. His authority wasfinal in fixing up the duration of the course, indirecting the courses of studies, in selecting or reject-ing students and in laying down rules for guidingthe day-to-day work. As each teacher was anauthority on the subject of his specialisation, therewas little scope for any conflict of interests or com-petition among them. The knowledge of all theseteachers put together represented everything thatwas worth knowing in those days. The studiesterminated when the teacher was satisfied with theachievement of his student and there was no rigidregulation of any sort to regiment the duration of the


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course. Normally specialisation in various subjectsof study took eight years, but the period could bereduced or lengthened in accordance with the iatel-lectual capacity of the students and the amount ofenergy and application shown by them. There werealso some cases where teachers advised students toleave their studies, because they could not fit them-selves in the social, intellectual or moral atmosphereof their schools, which were invariably located in theteachers' private houses. The completion of studieswas not marred by any formal examination norwas there any convocation for conferring degrees.Examinations were treated as superfluous, becausethe procedure of teaching subjects was critical andthorough and unless one unit was very thoroughlymastered by the student, he was not allowed toproceed to the succeeding portions. The studentswho completed their studies did not receive anywritten certificates or diplomas because it was be-lieved that knowledge was its own reward and usingit for earning bread or for achieving any selfish endwas a sacrilege.Only higher education was imparted

As has already been pointed out before, onlyhigher courses were taught in these institutions.These institutions therefore took students to theend of the knowledge of some particular subjects^taking it up from the secondary stage which the


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irstudent had already finished elsewhere before join-ing these institutions. The process of educationwhich began at home with primary education andwidened in extent in the education in the A'ramaswhich imparted what corresponded to secondaryeducation reached its culmination in these placeswhich imparted education at the university level.According to the system prevalent in ancient India,primary education was imparted to children uptothe age of eight and secondary education coveredfrom eight to twelve years more. So the studentswho came to learn in ancient Indian universitieswere approximately sixteen to twenty years of age.Takshaila was so well known for its teachers thathundreds of students went to this place in searchof knowledge, leaving aside the comforts and safetyof their home. Their parents' sacrifice in sendingthem to this place was indeed great, particularlywhen one takes into consideration the risk involvedin long journeys in those days when travel was slow,dangerous and uncertain. Numerous referencesshow that students in hundreds used to flock to thiscity from distant places like Banaras, Rajagrha,Mithila, Ujjain, Koiala, Madhya Desa and from theKuru Kingdoms in the north. Takshasila wasthus the intellectual capital of India, a centraluniversity that exercised suzerainty over the worldof letters in India. All the other centres of learningin di^erent parts of the country were affiliated' to it.


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Courses taughtThere was a wide variety of courses offered at

Taksliasila, both in literary and scientific or tech-nical subjects. The terms used to denote these twotypes of courses were the Vedas and the Silpas.The number of yedas studied in this university ismentioned as three, but it is difficult to explain whythe fourth Veda and most probably the Atharvavedashould have been dropped from the list. It wasso perhaps because the content of the Atharvavedawas more or less secular in nature and the topicstreated" therein were also included in the variousother branches of study. In fact it is impossible todrop the Atharvaveda, because the minister forreligious affairsthe Purohitaaccording to ManuSmrti had to be an expert in Atharvaveda. Thestudy of the Vedas probably meant learning themby heart for that was the most important servicethe Brahmanas rendered to the preservation andpropagation of the Hindu culture. It is very likelythat the study of the Vedas also included the inter-pretation and exposition of the content of thesesacred books. A number of books had alreadybeen written by this time to facilitate the com-prehension of the content of the Veda and as theauthor of Nirukta, a treatise on Vedic etymologysays a man who knew merely the chanting of theVeda but did not know its meaning was like


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T3a pillar merely carrying the burden and that , all',prosperity attended upon those \vho knew the mean-ing. Probably the term Veda also included thestudy of its six auxiliary sciences, the Science ofcorrect pronunciation, Aphoristic literature guidingthe performance of various rites and sacrifices,Grammar, Astronomy, Prosody and Etymology.The study of these auxiliary sciences had necessarilyto precede the comprehension of the mcaningof theVedas.There is no precise mention of. what the eighteen

Silpas were, indicating a craft or vocation based onpractical skill as contrasted with religious and liter-ary subjects. According to one source, the Silpasor crafts were as follows : Holy tradition and se-cular law, Sankhya, Nyaya ( Logic ), Vaiseshika( Atomic theory of creation ), Arithmetic, Music,Medicine, four Vedas, Puranas ( Antiquities ), Iti-hasas ( History), Military Art, Poetry and Convey-ancing. But this list includes the Vedasand manyother subjects which cannot be termed aa crafts andseems to be very loosely given. A study of variousreferences shows that the following crafts weretaught in this university : Conveyancing or Law,Mathematics, Accountancy, Agriculture, CommercejCattle breeding, Smithy, Carpentry, Medicine aridSurgery, Archery and allied Military arts. Astro?norriy, Astrology., Diviiiation, Ma^ic, Snake cl^afti^r


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14ing, Art of finding hidden treasures, Music, Dancing 'and Painting. It is obvious that the numbereighteen need not be taken too literally.

These courses must have remained unchangedthroughout the period of existence of the university.There were certainly some additions made to thelist of subjects taught whenever a need was felt forthe same as a result of religious, political and socialchanges which came during its existence of aboutfifteen hundred years. The place was conqueredby the Persians in the sixth century B. C. as a resultof which the Brahmi script that was in vogue wasreplaced by the Kharoshtri script. In the secondcentury B. C. it was conquered by the Indo-Bac-trians, who were the inheritors of the Greek culture.This must have brought about some additions tothe courses taught at the university. It is difficultto decide what these subjects were, but it has de-finitely been ascertained that the Greek languagebegan to be taught and that even among neighbour-ing places, the Greek language could be understoodby a number of people. The teachers* at the placehad no objection to collecting knowledge from what-soever source it was available and they were suffi-ciently broad-minded to honour even foreign savantslike Rshis. The place was overrun by the Sythiansin the first century B. C. and by the Kusans inthe first century A. D. Both these had no culture


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t5and civilization worth the name and the curficulumin the university Was little affected as a result oftheir invasions. In the fifth century A. D., theHuns also overran the part of the country wherethe University was situated. It is not possible toascertain the extent to which the curriculutti wasaffected by their invasion, because the universitymet with its ruin in the same century.One other influence which was mainly religious

in nature must also have affected the curriculum atTakshasila. It was the influence of Buddhism whichwas born in about the middle of the sixth centuryB.C. The place of the birth and development ofBuddhism was, however, far removed from Taksha-sila, which continued to be the stronghold of Vediclearning. But as the number of students comingfrom the Eastern parts of the country was very con-siderable, the prin


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i6In sciences, arts and crafts, both the theory and

practice of the different subjects had to be studied.Usually every theoretical discussion followed a prac-tical performance leading to a more skilful attempton the part of the student. But actual practice ofevery art reveals certain important principles andas such these had to be postponed and the studenthad to be left to his own capacities and resource-fulness to find out these. In special sciences likemedicine where incompleteness of knowledge couldresult in a disaster, special care was taken to see toit that the student had become a thorough masterof the science.

FinanceAll the necessary financial assistance was sup-

plied by the society to teachers who as a generalrule provided free boarding and lodging to all thestudents. No student was required to pay any feeson a compulsory basis. The non-payment of feesnever resulted in expulsion from the institution norin any differential treatment. In fact, stipulationthat fees should be paid was vehemently condemned.Knowledge was considered too sacred to be barteredfor money and Hindu scriptures contain specificinjunctions against those who charge money tostudents. A salaried teacher, i. e., a teacher whocharges fees on a compulsory basis is to be treated,according to the scripture of Manu, as unfit for


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17company at the table. There were, however, nofinancial difficulties that affected the smooth work-ing of institutions for higher learning, because every-thing that was necessary became easily available.The spiritual standing, renunciation and deepknowledge of the teachers inspired many richpersons to give voluntary help in various ways tothese institutions. Some well-to-do parents alsogave generous monetary help. This was giveneither at the beginning or at the end of the studiesof their children. Those who had no conveniencecould without any restraint, conduct their studiesas long as they liked and enjoyed the same rights,privileges and duties as those who were monetarilybetter placed. A completely democratic spirit thusreigned in these sacred places. The number of stu-dents studying with every guru was large enoughto be counted in hundreds, yet all monetary con-veniences were'supplied in various ways by peoplewho appreciated the selfless work of the teachers,for balanced development in morals and attainmentof knowledge of the capable youths of the country.Kings also helped the cause by direct and indirectmonetary help without exercising any control overthese institutions. The teacher's authority wascomplete and absolute. It is true that everystudent at the termination of his studies paid some-thing to his teacher by way of Dakshina, but thesum thus paid was never sufficient to qoyer the


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i8expenses of his education. Many times it was only aturban, a pair of sandals, an umbrella or an uppergarment. The dominating idea was that everyqualified student had a right to free education andthat it was unholy to associate knowledge with anymonetary gift as the price of knowledge and con-veniences received. The Dakshina offered wassimply an indication of the recognition of the deepdebt of gratitude that the student owed to the guru.

The community also was conscious of its dutyto the cause of education. Moneyed people veryoften used to make arrangements for the food ofthe students all throughout^ their courses of educa-tion. Sometimes kings of various places sent studentsto the university for education and made all thenecessary arrangements for boarding and lodgingfor them at State expense. As the teacher was nota money-monger, even poor families considered ittheir duty to maintain students studying under himby regularly offering him some part of their cookedfood. There were certain occasions when moneywas offered to the Brahmanas who were custodiansof learning and knowledge for enabling them to con-tinue their charitable work. Poor students afterfinishing their education approached kings for get-ting money for the Dakshina to be offered to theguru and their requests were always granted bykings. One well-known example in this respect is


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19that of King Raghu of Ayodhya who, in spite of hiShaving renounced everything, supplied fourteencrores of golden coins to Varatantu's discipleKautsa, who had approached him for money.Failure to help a student in need of money forpaying the teacher's honorarium was regarded aathe greatest slur on a king's reputation. On theoccasion of the performance of various sacrifices, theteachers were offered ample money. They were alsogiven exemption from payment of taxes. All thesemeans facilitated the work of giving free education,lodging and boarding to every student who came tolearn in this university.Admission

Admission was free to all castes except theChandalas ( the fifth caste ). There was no restric-tion about the choice of subjects which was entirelyleft to students. What the pupil learnt at theuniversity was based on the dictum " Knowledgefor knowledge's sake". The accomplishment hadnot to be used as an instrument for earning one'slivelihood which never was a problem in ancientIndia. This is how we find a complete democracyreigning in this university. The different classesand castes merged in the democracy of learning.The democracy was strengthened by the existence ofa common code of rules and observances prescribedfor students irrespective of their social or economic


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26status. The students could be admitted freely toany course provided they had the necessary back-ground. Although we have no record of instanceswhere incompetent students were asked to returnwithout admission, the very fame of the teachers ofTakshasila must have forced the aspirants foradmission to make ar very serious scrutiny of theirown capacity to comprehend the high level ofknowledge imparted at the place. Admission neverbecame a problem for those who had the requi-site qualifications, namely, freedom from jealousy,straightforwardness and self-control. In fact, teach-ers were thirsting for pupils and offering prayers forreceiving such pupils. One such prayer when trans-lated stands thus, " O Creator, just as water flowsto the lower level, just as months pass incessantly,so may Brahmacharins (young pupils) come tome.Some famous students

It is unfortunate that we are completelyin the dark about the names of the renownedteachers who adorned the hallowed precincts ofTakshasila. Even the Jatakas which have suppliedto us most of the information regarding this univer-sity are conipletely silent on this point. Traditionsrnention that Panini, the greatest grammarian ofthe Sanskrit language, was a student of this uni-yersity ; so also was Chanakya, ( known also as


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21Kautilya) the minister of Chandra Gupta Mourya,who reduced the Nanda dynasty of Magadha toashes. jTvaka, the famous physician, is also de-scribed as a student of this university. He was anexpert in medicine and had studied under a ' world-renowned physician ' for a period of seven years.It is said that Jivaka cured Emperor Bimbisara ofhis fistula and, as a result, was appointed a physi-cian to the King and to the Buddhist saiiigha. Heis also said to have cured King Pradyota of Ujjayiniof jaundice. He was very well known for his sur-gical operations. In the case of one rich merchantwho was suffering from a head disease, it has beenpointed out that he tied him fast to his bed, cutthrough the skin of the head, drew apart the fleshon each side of the incision, pulled two worms outof the wound, then closed up the sides of the wound,stitched up the skin on the head and anointed itwith salve. He is also said to have successfullycured cases of twisted intestines.The end

It has already been pointed out before thatthe Kusans conquered that part of the country inthe first century A. D. and ruled over it upto about250 A. D. As these people were little cultured, thosetimes must have been most unfavourable for thepropagation of education. The rule of Kusans wasfollowed by that of the little yuch-chis. They also


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22were foreign to any kind of culture and learning. Thefinal blow was struck by the Hunas in the middleof the 5th century. A.D. when the dying embers ofthis proud seat of learning got completely exting-uished.


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Pl|t4

Sftar^JTST*!??!^

MONKS IN BUDDHIST UNIVERSITIES


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Nalanda ( 425 A. d. to 1205 A. D.History

There are various fexplanations showing thesignificance of the name given to the place. Accord-ing to one theory Naiatida was the name of a Naga{ cobra ) who lived in a tank near the mango-treeto the south of a Sangharama. A second accouhtsays that the name was the result of the incessantcharity given by Bodhisattva who was living atthis place. The third explanation is based on anetymological analysis of the word which means thatendowments incessantly flowed to the institution,but donors had not had the satisfaction of havinggiven sufSciently. Its ptOsperity as described latershows that the third explanation is more acceptablethan the remaining two.

Long before the Christian era the place Wasnoted as a religious centre. This was the placewhich was sanctified by the stay of Buddha and hisdisciples ( 523 B. C.477 B, C. ) and had witnesseda number of discussions on Buddhist doctrines.This was also the place where Mahavira, the JainTirthankara, met Gosala. This was the place ofdiscussion carried on by Nagarjuna and others inthe early centuries of the Christian era. ASoka hadbuilt a temple and a Vihara at this place, because itwas only a little way from thickly populated Raja*


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Mgrha and therefore convenient for religious prac-tices. The University was founded by Sakradityaand extended by his son, Buddhaguptaraja, and hissuccessor, Tathagataguptaraja. This was follow-ed by the destruction of the place by Mihirakula inthe course of his pursuit of Narasinhagupta, in 500A.D. But after this destruction the place flourishedwith greater radiance and prosperity. Thus al-though the place had been a great religious andeducational centre in the days of Nagarjuna in thesecond century A.D. and even earlier in the days ofBuddha, it became a university only in the earlierhalf of the fifth century when a stream of scholasticpilgrimage began to flow towards the place. Almostthroughout the whole period of existence of thisuniversity, it had the rare privilege of enjoyingroyal patronage.Buildings at Naianda

The first Sangharama was built by Sakraditya(415-455 A.D.). His son Buddhaguptaraja builtianother Sangbarama to the south. Tathagatagup-taraja, his successor, built one more to the east ofthis. Baladitya ( 468-472 A.D. ) built one more tothe north-east. He also built another great Vihara,three hundred feet in height, which was ' erectedas if with a view to seeing the Kailasa mountainsurpassed '. His son Vajra built another Sangharamato the west. Later a king of Central India, Srib'arsha


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25built another Sangharama to the north of it as wellas a high wall round these edifices with one gate.New buildings continued to be erected by Hinduand Buddhist donors down to the eleventh century.Hiuen Tsiang mentions six monasteries constitutingthe Nalanda establishment in his time. All thesebuildings " were majestic in their size and heightwith richly adorned towers, fairy-like turrets ap-pearing like pointed hill-tops, and observatorieslost in the mist of morning. The upper roomstowered above the clouds and from their windowsone could see the winds and clouds producing evernew forms and from the oaring eaves the sunsetsplendours and the moonlit glories. All the out-side courts in which were the priests' chamberswere of four stages. The stages had dragon-projec-tions and coloured eaves, pearl-red pillars, carvedand ornamented, richly adorned balustrades whilethe roofs were covered with tiles that reflected thelight in a thousand shades. " The grounds werebeautified by deep translucent ponds, with bluelotuses intermingled with Kanaka flowers of deepred colour. The place was shaded by mango groves.

Archaeological excavations carried out at thisplace amply bear out the description of the artisticwealth of Nalanda. Three monasteries have so farbeen unearthed along with one temple building.The description Qi one of these wiU suffice to give q,


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26rough idea of the vastness of the monasteries. Thenorth wall of the most southerly of the big monas-tic complexes measures 203 feet and is 6 feet 6inches thick. The side walls measure 168 feet andare 7 feet 6 inches thick. The walls are " composedof most superior bricks, of a light yellowish tint andadmirable texture, fitted together so perfectly thatin some places the joints between the bricks are al-together inconspicuous. As brickwork the construc-tion is remarkable, far superior to any modernwork. " The rectangle formed by the main wallscontains cells measuring 9'-6", lo'-ii" and 12'.Each single seated cell has one stone bench, adouble seated one having two. Each room has oneniche for a lamp and another for books. Ovensof large sizes that have been unearthed show thatthere was common messing. In a corner of thecourtyard of each monastery a well has betn un-earthed. Excavation has shown that at leeistthirteen monasteries stood at this spot during dif-ferent periods. The university covered an area atleast one mile long and half a mile broad, all build-ings being arranged according to a preconceivedplan. The central college had seven halls attachedto it with three hundred rooms for teaching work.Admission

Nalanda, like other universities of its type wasan institution which imparted only higher education


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2?and acGordingly admission was restricted to th&s&who had the necessary background to follow post-'graduate studies. In particular the institution wasknown as a place where learned men from all partsof the country as well as from neighbouring nationsgathered for getting their doubts solved and forgaining mastery in the aft of disputation. Suchscholars Came in large nurtibefs from Morigotia,China, Korea, Tibet and Tokhara. Although soffieof the scholars Came for securing manuscripts driBuddhism, there were many Who cartie' to get astamp of approval idt their doctrines from theauthorities in the University. It was because ofthis that those who waflted to get entrance to theuniversity had to undergo a very strict examiriafiOri.Hiuen Tsfaiig has pointed out that only twentyper cent of those who came seekifig for admiissioncame out successful at the examination and theremaining had to go back in disappointtrtenf.Those who examined the candidate^ seeking adniis-sion were experts in religious controversies andwere always ready with difificult problems to try thecompetence of aspirants for admission. The ptdba.-ble age of admission, therefore, must have been notless than twenty. It is also mentioned that the'uni^^efsity conducted a department for secondaryand primary education where young pupils werefreely admitted. For all these students a very highstandard of morality was prescribed and students


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28at Nalanda were taken as models of morality, andduring the long existence of seven centuries not asingle case of guilty rebellion has been reported.Boarding and lodging arrangements for students

In all Buddhist institutions boarding and lodg-ing were offered free except in such institutions aswere intended for imparting education to the laity.Inasmuch as there is much that is common toHinduism and Buddhism, it is natural that inthis respect also, things should have been much thesame as in Hindu institutions. It has been pointedout in some places that ' the teacher as he took nofees, made the student work in his Asrama orVihara.' This should apply only to Buddhist teach-ers and that too in the earlier days of Buddhismwhen donations were not pouring in. In later daysperhaps fees were not insisted upon ; nor was anypreferential treatment given to students who wererich and paid fees. There were periods in thehistory of Buddhist education when Viharas ormonasteries offered every facility because theyowned excessive wealth and it is impossible to speakof fees being charged on a compulsory basis. ThatBuddhist students were required to go for beggingalms does not indicate the poverty of the institu-tions where they received their education. Theinstitutions ^ere rich in wealth and materials. Sothere must have been some other reason behind it.


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2gBegging was prescribed because of its educationaladvantages as was the case in Hindu institutions.There the student begged not for himself but forthe support of his school. Its educative value layin the fact that it produced in the pupil a spirit ofhumility and renunciation. " But its moral effectsmay be examined more closely. First the contrastbetween his own life and that of the world at largebrings home to him the value of the scheme forwhich he stands, which he will now all the more tryto consolidate. This makes for a more completeorganisation of the personality, a deeper loyalty tohis system. Further the daily duty of beggingmakes the ego less and less assertive, and with itall unruly desires and passions which do not shootforth as their roots wither. Thus there is reacheda greater balance of the inner life. A sense ofbalance and harmony further brings out the contrastbetween the behaviour of his own group and thatof the men of the world, and this further confirmshis faith in his own group or order. Again anacquaintance through begging with worldly life andits trials make him realise more vividly the securityof his own life. Lastly, begging makes the pupilfeel how unaffected he is to any ties and a sense ofindependence contributing to a sense of selfhood.It is like a ritual for the cultivation of impersonalrelations in life. The contact of the recluse withthe world is a valuable corrective to the exaggerated


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sbbjectivity of is^ikted meditative Hfe in the hermit-age. Isolation and intercourse thus lead to ahigher synthesis of the inner and the outer, Purushaand Prakrti, self and the world."Courses of study

The curriculum of the university was veryexhaustive and embraced all subjects, Buddhist aswell as non-Buddhist, Mahayana as well as Hina-yana. Only a few of these many subjects weretreated as compulsory. Study of Mahayana andacquaintance with all the eighteen schools of Bud-dhism were prescribed as compulsory subjects. TheIVtahayanists propounded the doctrines of Sunya-vada and Vijnanavada. The doctrine of ' Sky-flower ' which means that all objective phenomenaare, like sky-flowers, unreal and vanishing waspopular among the Mahayanists but was held in con-tempt as a heresy by the Hinayanists. Among thesubjects that were taught on a voluntary basis Logicplayed an important part. Yet looking to the im-portant place that dialectics occupied during thosedays, it must have played a very important role inthe university. The systems of logic acceptableto various other schools of thought were alsostudied. Astronomy was taught and for this pur-pose an observatory and a clepsydra were speciallymaintained by this university. According toHiuen Tsiang this clepsydra gave correct time for


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31all Magadha. Tantra was a very popular subjectat this university because we hear oi many scholarswriting works on Tantra, others studying them andstill others copying and translating them into thelanguages of the north. Tantras deal with the useof mystic syliables and words as well as magic. Thepractice cf Mudras, Mantras, Dharanis, Yoga andSamadhi were not there in primitive Buddhism, nordid it prescribe any worship of Buddha or di&reratgods and goddiesses. The Tantras became speciallypopular, because they allowed liberty of actionwhich was forbidden by early Buddhism to thefollowers of the new cult. Other subjects studiedin this University were the Vedas and their sixauxiliaries. Medicine, Grammar, Sankhya, Philology,Law, Philosophy and other miscellaneous subjects.The subjects were drawn from different fields oflearning, Brahmanical and Buddhist, sacred andsecular, philosophical and practical, sciences andarts. There were some institutions for primaryeducation run by the university where six-yearolds were admitted. Such students learnt Sabda-vidya or Grammar of the Sanskrit language becauseknowledge of Sanskrit was essential both forBuddhists and Hindus who were studjdng at theuniversity. After studying elementary course inGrammar for six months, the student was requiredto study the Sutrapatha and Dhatupatha fromPanini's graniniar. At the age of ten he was taught


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32the book on three Khilas which gave a thoroughknowledge of grammar. The student could masterthis in three years. This was followed by moresubtle and abstruse studies of Grammar whichgenerally lasted five years. The book used for thispurpose was Vrtti-sutra which contains a discussionof subjects other than Grammar comprising " every-thing under the sun ". All this was for training ofmemory and was to be learnt by heart. This wasfollowed by study of prose and verse, logic andmetaphysics. At the advanced university stagesome students followed advanced courses in Gram-mar and learnt Churni of Pataujali and Bhartr-hari's Sastra. Kshatriya students could learn theart of archery along with other Sastras like Medicine,Veda, Vedangas, Sankhya, Nyaya ( Logic ) andVai^eshika ( Atomic theory of the world ) mentionedbefore.

Administration of the UniversityAt the head of the university was a Bhikkhu

possessing character, scholarship and seniority, whowas elected by the various Sanghas comprising thefederation. This Bhikkhu controlled and directedthe work of administering the affairs of the univer-sity, academic and otherwise through two councilsappointed for the purpose. The former looked toaffairs like admitting students to the university,regulating the courses in various subjects, distribn-


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33tion of work amohg teachers, holding of examina-tions at proper intervals, looking after the securingand maintenance of manuscripts and the arrange-ment for copying manuscripts which were greatlyin demand in those days. The other council at-tended to the financial aspect, construction and re-pairs of buildings, securing and supply of food tothe inmates, arrangements of clothes and medicines,allocation of rooms to students and teachers accord-ing to their standing and the distribution amongthe residents of the menial work connected with theworking of the university. This council was requir-ed to pay meticulous attention to the landed estatesbelonging to the Sanghas. Leasing out the land tofarmers, collecting and storing of corn received fromtenants and the distribution among various messeswas an important duty of the council. In spite ofthis method of control on federated basis the in-dependence and efificiency of each constituent groupwas maintained. The constituents of the federationwere individual teachers, each with a group of stu-dents of his own living under his guardianship andresponsible for the health and studies, tnanners andmorals and the spiritual progress of his students.These students, because they formed a part of larg-er federation, could partake of a wider academicand collective life with its own advantages. UnlikeHindu institutions which were isolated and independ-ent of each other and which depended upon ideal


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34succession of teachets and disciples, these schoolshad federated themselves into larger units calledViharas or monasteries. The independence andefficiency of each constituent school was maintainedand relations between the constituent groups wereadjusted by means of rules provided for the purpose.Rules for both the teachers and the taught wereframed by the federation for maintaining harmonyof relations, for preventing controversies amongprofessors and for maintaining academic etiquette.Every teacher Upajjihaya or Achariya was indepen-'dent of the federation in regard to the maintenanceof discipline and the federation could inflict punish-ment upon his pupils directly only in the case ofserious offences like destroying life, stealing, com-mitting impurity, lying, drinking, defaming theBuddha, Dhamma and Sangha, holding false doc-trines and misconducts with Bhikkhunis ( Buddhistnuns). Thus there was a judicious mixture of in-dependence and restrictions.Finance

Buddhism was strictly speaking an order ofascetics and mendicants and no Bhikkhu wasallowed to receive gold or silver or any gift in cash.The violation of this interdict was regarded as aserious offence. Things offered in kind could beaccepted. This rule was observed very rigorouslyin the earUer days, of Buddhism and the rigour of


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33renunciation which alone could save one fromworldly contamination was maintained in its pristinepurity. But the Buddha, during his life-timeallowed the Sanghas to grow rich by permittingthem to receive benefactions from lay well-wisherswhich kept continuously flowing to the monasterieseven under Buddha's direct encouragement. Amongthe gifts accepted for the Sangha were parks,pavilions, ponds, buildings and Viharas with allappurtenances for healthful life, materials for build-ings and property by bequests for the dead. TheBuddha encouraged such donations by declaringthem as meritorious deeds. Sometimes standinginvitations for meals were given to Bhikkhus. Laydevotees many times supplied provisions to theSanghas in the form of ghee, butter, oil, honey andmolasses and sugar.

Even from its beginning the place was rich inmoney as its very name indicates.* Right from425 A.D. endowments for the university were pour-ing in. The list of such donors contains the namesof kings Kumaragupta I, Buddhagupta, Tathagata-gupta, Baladitya, Vajra and Harsha Vardhana.Like the Guptas and Vardhanas, Varmans, alsoshowed interest in the university. It is statedthat Purnavarman and Yasovarmadeva donated

The name meant, "however much one may give, onenever feels satisfied '\


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sa

money equal to the price of the whole Nalandainstitution. The Pala King of Bengal, Devapala byname is said to have donated five villages for theassembly of venerable Bhikkhus and for the upkeepand repair of monasteries. The kings of the far-offSuvarnadwipa and Yavadwipa (Sumatra and Java)had also patronised these institutions. On accountof such bountiful benefactions, the university neverexperienced any financial difficulty and could de-velop to its fullest capacity.Teachers and students

It is stated that at one time there were 10,000monks staying at Nalanda. Of these, 1,510 wereteachers and the remaining 8,500 were studentsbelonging to various levels of attainments andstudying various subjects. It has been pointed outthat there were on an average a hundred lecturesor discussions every day. On an average the num-ber of students per teacher was seven or eight andit must have been very convenient to give individualattention to students.Libraries

The university had a large collection of manu-scripts on various subjects in various languagesstored up in three splendid buildings appropriatelycalled Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi and Ratnaranjaka.This was greatly helpful in the dissemination ofknowledge, because we find numerous mentions of


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37scholars from abroad copyirjg oyt manvscfipts inhundre4s from these libraries and taking thern totheir countries. It-sing is said to have got copiedfrom Nalanda, 400 Sanskrit works amounting to5,00,000 verses.Teachers at Naianda

Learried men from Nalan^ia were farnous allover the country. They defeated many Panditasbelonging to other faiths and converted them toBuddhism. Among the list we may ei-Iso include theChinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang who acquired in thisuniversity the knowledge of the doctrines ofBhutas, Nirgranthas, Kapalikfis, Jtjtikas, Sankhyasand Vaiseshikas over and above those of Bud-dhism, The fact that a distinguished king hkeSri Harsha sent for Panditas from Nalanda bearsample testimony to the depth of their learning. ThePanditas of this place were accepted as authoritieseven on Hinayana doctrines of Buddhism althoughthe university championed the cause of the Maha-yana doctrine. It is said that one thousand Panditasfrom Nalanda University were present at the as-sembly held at Kanyakubja ( Kanoj ) by Sri Harshato investigate the treatise of Hiuen Tsiang.

We give below some important informationabout famous teachers who lived at or were assoqi^t-ed with Nalanda.


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3S

The names of Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Din-naga, Padmasaihbhava, Shantarakshita, Aryadeva,Rahulabhadra, Asanga, Jayadeva, Chandrakirti,Dharmapala, Gunamati, Sthiramati, Prabhamitraand Jinamitra are traditionally associated with thisfamous university. We have detailed informationonly about some of them.( I ) Nagarjuna : He was a colleague of Aryadeva.

Both of them discovered a deeper meaningin Buddha's preaching and founded andpopularised a new form of Buddhism calledMahayana and gave it a philosophy namedMadhyamika. This occurred in the laterhalf of the second and the earlier part ofthe third century.

( 2 ) Aryadeva : He was one of the scholars ofNalanda who lived in the 4th century A.D.He was the author of three works; all ofthese were translated into Tibetan. His lastwork known as Madhyamika-bhramaghata-nama was written at the request of the kingof Jariibudwipa and was translated intoTibetan by Upadhyaya Dipankara SriJnana. He was the follower of Nagarjunaand assailed the Sankhyas, Vaiseshikas andtwenty other doctrines.

( 3 ) Vasubandhu : Anecdotes point out thatVasubandhu composed the Paramartha-


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39saptati to oppose the doctrine of Sankhyascontained in the Sankhya-saptati and recon-verted king Baladitya ( Narasinhagupta )from Sankhya to Buddhism. He commentedupon a number of works on Mahayana. Heflourished between the years 420 and 500A.D.

( 4 ) Asanga : He completely evolved the doctrineof Yogachara. It is he who grafted on theMahayana the practices of Yoga, union of theindividual and the universal spirit andmystical and other practices of abstractmeditation. He wrote three works on Maha-yana.

( 5 ) Sthiramati : Hiuen Tsiang speaks of him asthe founder of a monastery at Valabhi anddescribes him as a person the streams ofwhose superior knowledge spread about evennow. He played an important role in spread-ing Buddhism to Tibet, He is supposed tohave written a number of books on Maha-yana. He flourished between the years 460and 550 A. D,

( 6 ) Dharmapala : He was the son of a highofficial at Kanchipura in the South butembraced Buddhism even in his youth. Hisservices to the cause of Buddhism are Ofinestimable value. It is said that he


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vanquished a heretic adversary who had de-feated all the Buddhist Panditas and con-verted them to Buddhism. He also defeatedone hundred champions of Hinayana Bud-dhism. After coming to Nalanda he becamethe chief Pandita of the place. He was theauthor of a grammatical work called Varna-sutra-vrittinama. He wrote four Buddhistworks in Sanskrit which are all translatedinto Tibetan. He flourished between 550and 650 A.D.

( 7 ) Shilabhadra : He became the head Panditaof Nalanda after Dharmapala. He was theson of a king in East India and a Brahmanaby caste. In pursuit of newer realms ofknowledge he renounced his regal honourand comfort as well as his caste. In thecourse of his wanderings he came to Nalandawhich was not far off from his place wherehe was initiated into the principles of Bud-dhism by Dharmapala. At the early age ofthirty, he defeated a reputed heretic ofSouth India by his profound and subtlearguments. Much against his will he hadto accept the donation of a village from the

. king of the land as an appreciation of thisvictory. From out of the proceeds of thisgift he built a magnificent monastery. As


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4tthe head of Nalanda, he received Hiuert",Tsiang and appointed Jayasena to teachYogasastra to the Chinese visitor. It wasat his insistence that Hiuen Tsiang visitedKamarupa ( Assam ) for converting Kumara-raja and his family to Buddhism. Only onework is assigned to him viz., Arya buddha-bhumi-vyakhyana although he must havewritten many books.

(8) Santideva : He lived between the years695-743 A. D, He was the son of KingManjuvarman. His mother advised him togo to the country of Bodhisatvas. Heentered the Nalanda University where, as aresult of his sobriety and solemnity he wasgiven the name Santideva. He studiedthree Pitakas ( religious books of Buddhistsat that place.

( 9 ) Santarakshita : He was the first Panditawho was ofificially invited to Tibet by kingKhri-son-den-tsan. His presence there wasnot welcomed by the people, so he was sentto Nepal. Later along with Padmasaiiibhava,he erected a monastery in Tibet of whichhe was the first head. After propagatingthe cause of Buddhism in Tibet for a periodof thirteen years he died in 762 A.D,.


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43( 10 ) PadmaSaHibihava : Se was th son of Indra-

bodhi, the king of Udayatia. He was aprofninertt expoiindf of the Yogacharaschool artd went to Tibet at the invitationof the king. He founded Laitiaism in Tibetarid is deified and worshipped like Buddhahirtiselt. He spread Taiitristn that deals withmagic atid sorcery in Tibet kflowfi as the roofof the world.

( 11 ) KitoasTla : He was a gr^t disciple andcontemporary of ^antai'akshita and livedbetweea 720-780 A.D. He is said to havewritten a cotnmetary on TatVasaiigraha.It Was becaffse of his unique scholarship thatSaiitarakshita invited him to vanqQish anadversary named Hcel^Mg who was a Panditafrom China atid taught doctrines contraryto those taught by Santarakshita. He couldeasily defeat Hoshang.

\t2) CawdtdgOftita : He is SiappOSfed to havewritten liO tess than sixty books on Tantra-sastra. He was also a distinguished scholarof literature, gram'mar, logie, astronomy,tftuSie, fine arts afld the science of medicine.He Was the first from the Bengal school oftogfeians to attract the attention of theliterary world.


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43( 13 ) Buddhaklrti : He was the connecting link

between Nalanda and Vikramasila. He wasthe last great scholar produced by Nalanda.He flourished towards the end of the ele-venth century and the beginning of thetwelfth century.

Decline and fall of the universityThe university worked with great vigour upto

1 100 A.D. when its greatness began to be eclipsedby Vikramasila which began to receive a greatershare of royal patronage. The university receivedthe final tragic blow at the hands of the Musliminvaders under Bakhtiyar Khilji at the end of thetwelfth century and not one of the monks remainedto narrate the sad tale of its destruction. Thepriceless library of the university was also wantonlyset on fire and destroyed.


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Valabhi {600 a.d, to 1200 a.d.)History

The University of Valabhi was situated inSaurashtra in Western Iiidia. The place is identicalwith the old Wala State. It.was an important cen-tre of Buddhist learning,and championed the causeof Hinayana Buddhism. For some time it had be-come a rival of Nalanda in the academic field,Valabhi was the capital of Maitraka kings duringthe period 480-775 A. D. and was born from thebenefactions of these kings. Situated on the sea-shore, it was then an important port for interna-tional trade.Courses

Although Valabhi championed the cause ofHinayana Buddhism, it was not exclusive andparochial. Along with instruction in the Buddhistdoctrines Brahmanical sciences also used to betaught at this place. We find references to Brah-mana students coming from the Gangetic plains tolearn at this university. Over and above religioussubjects, there was also instruction imparted insubjects like Niti ( Political science. Statesmanship),Varta (Business, Agriculture), Administration. Theo-logy, Law, Economics and Accountancy. In somecases students, after studying at this universitywere employed by kings for assisting in the govern-ment of their kingdom,


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45Fame

The fame of Valabln had spread over the wholeof northern India to such an extent that the Katha-saritsagara narrates the story of a Brahmana, whopreferred to send his son to Valabhi rather than toNalanda or Banaras. Very httle, however, is knownto us about the famous teachers and scholars wholived at the place, excepting names of two of itsPanditas, viz. Gunamati and Sthiramati. Yet it iscertain that the stamp of approval of the doctrinespreached by various scholars by the authoritativePanditas of Valabhi was much valued in learnedassemblies.

StudentsIn about the middle of the 7th century when

Hiuen Tsiang visited the place, there were 6,000monks studying in the university. 100 monasterieswere provided for them.Finance

The funds necessary for running the Universitywere made available by the citizens of the place,many of whom were very rich and generous. TheMaitraka kings who ruled over the country from480 to 775 A.D. were the patrons of this universityand gave bountiful grants for the working of theUniversity as well as for equipping the libraries ofthe institutions.


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Closure of ValabhiThe patroQb kings succumbed to an Arab attack

in 775 A.D. as a result o wliich, the universityreceived a temporary set-back. The work of theuniversity, however, continued unabated even after-wards, because the successors of the Maitraka kingscontinued to patronize the university with richdoaations. But nothing much is known about theuniversity after this period. Probably the defeato-J the patron kings must have given a death-blowto all its educational activities which continuedupto the twelfth century.


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Vikramas'ila (800 a.d. to 1203 a.d.)History

The Vikramaiila Vihara ( Buddhist monastery)was a famous seat of learning situated on a hillockon the banks of the Ganga in northern Magadha( Bihar ). The place was just near Nalanda althoughthe exact location of the Vihara cannot be ascer-tained. Dr. S. C. Vidyabhiishana identified it withSultanganj in Bhagalpur district and Cunningham,with the village Silao near Badagaon. It wasfaunded by king Dharmapala in the eighth centuryA.D. (circa 775-800). He gave liberal endow-ments to the university so as to provide for freeboarding and lodging to resident and non-residentmonks studying at the place. All throughout theexistence of the university, i. e., upto 1203 A. D.when its tragic end came, the successors of KingDiharmapala continued to give bountiful donationsto the institution.Buildings

The buildings at Vikramasila were well plannedand accoramodativ*. There were one hundred andeight temples and six college buildings, spread outlike lotus-petals, with a beautiful Mahabodhi templein the centre with its six gates leading to the sixcolleges. Each of those six buildings had spaci(iis


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halls for lectures. AH these buildings were surround-ed by a strong wall.Courses taught

Like the other universities, this university alsoprovided only specialised instruction in various sub-jects at the collegiate level. The standard of attain-ment expected of the alumni must have been veryhigh, because admission was restricted only tothose who aspired to become Buddhist monks whowere to preach Buddhist gospel in far-off lands.The institution represented the Mahayana form ofBuddhism, a more assertive cult as the name itselfindicates. As the Mahayana form, however, pre-supposes the Hinayana and is a development ofthe same, Buddhist text-books belonging to boththese branches of Buddhism must have been taughthere. Along with these all the important branchesof Hindu learning were also taught, although theycould not be classified as Buddhist in nature. Thiscan be explained by the fact that Buddhism is notan entirely new religion as some believe. It ismerely a phase of Hinduism and in most of itsreligious and social aspects resembles its parentfaith. Some of the details common to Buddhismand Hinduism are : Brahmanical practices ofasceticism, begging, non-violence, insistence on righthabits and dominance of ceremonies. The coursesdid not cover all the branches of Hindu sciences


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49but special stress was laid on Grammar, Logic,Metaphysics and Ritualism. A special significancewas attached to Tantras which consist of religiousdoctrines teaching magical and mystical formulariesfor the worship of deities or the attainment ofsupreme power. It is not difficult to understandwhy many of the important subjects included inHindu education were dropped out. The coursestaught in Hindu institutions covered subjects likethe fourteen Vidyas, the eighteen Silpas and thesixty-four arts which embrace all the knowledgenecessary for a house-holder. Buddhism wasgenerally speaking averse to any worldly pleasureor to the life of a house-holder. It laid great stresson the evanescent nature of the worldly existenceand believed that all existence was a mere shadowand a source of sorrow and that whatever wasseen or felt was an " airy nothing ". In thesecircumstances, it is no wonder that they shouldhave rejected the subjects leading to enrich-ment of worldly life and stressed the renunciatoryaspect of education. It is significant to note alsothat the institutions were meant for prospectiveBhikkhus ( Buddhist monks ) and Bhikkhunis{ Buddhist nuns ) and the knowledge of items thatcreate fetters for human beings should have beenavoided.

It is not possible to decide with any amount ofprecision the duration of the courses. As in Hindu


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oschoollS, perhaps" the tittie required for" tnastering;the subjects depended upon the intelligence andapplication of students and that it was normallytwelve years. They believed in the inherent diff-erences of inteUigence and of other capacities ofstudents and did not prescribe any definite uniformlength of time for learning various courses. InHindu institutions, the practice of giving degreeparchments to students successfully finishing offtheir courses was not in vogue. That was not theneed of the day, because knowledge was treated asits own reward. The conferring of degrees in theexisting Pathasalas which run on ancient lines andteach the same ancient subjects, is of a veryrecent origin. The authorities of this universityused to confer the title of ' Pandita ' on those whohad finished their courses at the university. Thisfunction was usually presided over by the patronking. Tibetan authorities inform us that Jetariand Ratnavajra had received degrees at this univer-sity at the hands of Kings Mahlpala and Kanakarespectively. It was also customary in this univer-sity to exhibit on walls the portraits of such of thealumni as possessed outstanding merit. The objectof course must have been to pay a grateful tributeto their scholarship as well as to place before otherstudents examples worthy of emulation. In accord-ance with this custom, two portraits of Nagarjuna


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51and Atisa were exhibited on the walls of the uni-versity.Administration

There were boards in charge of different dutiesconnected with the day-to-day working of the uni-versity ; one chief abbot worked as the presidentof these various boards. There was completeacademic autonomy and the teachers in charge ofvarious departments were responsible for theacademic work conducted in their departments. Inorder to ensure a high standard of learning studentswere admitted to the university only if they satisfiedthe tests given by eminent authorities in charge ofvarious subjects. Six erudite teachers guarded thesix gates leading to the university. During thereign of Chanaka ( 955-983 A.D. ), the followingsix eminent logicians were posted for the work.Ratnakarasanti was placed at the east gate, Vagis-varakirti at the west, Naropa at the north, Prajna-karamati, at the south, Ratnavajra at the firstcentral gate and Jnanasrimitra at the second gate.Teachers and students

The teachers working at the university werewell known not only in India but even beyond herfrontiers for the depth and the width of their learn-ing. It is as a result of this that the university haddeveloped literary and cultural contacts with Tibet.Scholars from Tibet were particularly interested in


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52the Tantras, for the teaching of which special arrange-ments were made at the university all throughoutthe four hundred years of its existence. It wasVikramasila scholars who, as the custodians of piety,knowledge and religion have practically built up theculture and civilisation of Tibet. Many of thesescholars wrote books on various sciences in Sanskritand translated quite a few in Tibetan. It is saidthat Atisa alone wrote two hundred books, someoriginals and other translations. It has been point-ed out that when the university was started, KingDharmapala of Bengal, its first patron, had appoint-ed one hundred and eight teachers and other spe-cialists making up a total of one hundred and four-teen teachers. Scholars in large numbers poured infrom Tibet for whom a special arrangement forboarding and lodging was made. The number ofscholars coming from other parts of India also wasnot small. It has been mentioned that in thetwelfth century there were 3,000 monk scholarsstudying at this university. We give below a listof names of selected scholars from Vikramasila whohave influenced Tibetan culture.

( I ) Acharya Buddha Jnanapada : He wasappointed first as the priest of King Dharmapalaand later as the Acharya for ordination at Vikrama-sila. He became the founder of a new cult of whichVikramalila was the only centre in those days. He


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53wrote nine books on Tantra in Sanskrit. But nowonly their translations in Tibetan are available.

( 2 ) Vairochana Rakshita : He wrote severalbooks in Sanskrit and translated into Tibetan severalTantrika works. Later he went to Tibet where hewas given the titles of Mahapandita and Maha-charya.

( 3 ) Jetari : He completed his studies atVikrama^ila and was given the title of Pandita.Later he worked as a professor at Vikramaiila. Hetaught Sutra and Tantra to Ratnakarasanti, whowas appointed as a gate-keeper of the Vihara inabout 983 A. D.

( 4 ) Prajnakaramati : He was one of the gate-keepers of the Vihara and wrote several works, twoof which are in Tibetan.

( 5 ) Ratnakarasanti : He received his ordi-nation in Sarvastivada school at Odantapuri. Laterhe joined Vikramaiila. He wrote thirteen worksin Sanskrit and preached Buddhism in Ceylon, wherehe was invited for that work.

{ 6 ) Jnana Sri : He first belonged to Sravakaschool, but later became a Mahayana. He wroteseveral books and translated one of them, the Pra-manaviniichayatika into Tibetan.


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( 7 ) Ratnavajra : He was a resident ofKasmira. After studying Buddhist Sutras, Mantrasand sciences, he joined Vilcrama^ila University atthe age of thirty-six. There he won the title ofPandita and the honour of becoming a gate-keeper.He returned to Kasmira and defeated in argumentsome Tirthajas and converted them to Buddhism.Later he went to Tibet, learned the Tibetan lang-uage and translated into Tibetan fourteen works onTantra.

{ 8 ) Vagisvarakirti : He was a gate-keeperat Vikramasila. He belonged to Banaras, was aworshipper of Tara Devi and wrote a work in San-skrit named Mrtyubanchanopadeia.

( 9 ) Dipankara Sri Jnana alias AcharyaAtisa : He was one of the greatest missionaries ofBuddhism who travelled to foreign countries. Bornin a royal family in 980 A.D., he took the sacred vowat nineteen. At thirty-one he received the highestordination. He was the master of both Hinayanaand Mahayana, Vaiseshika and Tantras. After com-pleting his education he sailed to Suvarnadwipa{ Pegu ) and was further initiated into the mysteriesof Buddhism by Acharya Chandraklrti. There hestudied for twelve years. On his return to Indiahe defeated many scholars and was appointed headat Vikramasila. Later he went to Nepal at theinvitation of King Chan Chub of Tibet who was


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55anxious to purge Tibetan Buddhism of its corrup-tions which were many and gross. There he found-ed the new religion of Lamaism. He worked in Tibetfor thirteen years and died at the age of seventy-three. About two hundred works on Vajrayana areascribed to him. He also translated twenty twoSanskrit works into Tibetan.

( 10 ) Viryasinha : He helped Atisa in trans-lating Sanskrit works into Tibetan.

( 11 ) Abhayakaragupta : He was a native ofGauda ( Bengal ). He became a monk and wasappointed by King Ramapala of Magadha ( Biharto perform religious ceremonies at the palace. Hebelonged to the Mahayana school. He was an eye-witness of the first Turuksha ( Turks ) invasion ofMagadha. He was a great authority on Tantracult and translated seven works into Tibetan.

( 12 ) Tathagata Raksiita r He was born ina family of physicians in Orissa. At Vikramasila hereceived the titles " Mahapandita " and " Upa-dhyaya " and was a professor of Tantra. He tran-slated a number of books into Tibetan.

( 13 ) Ratnakirti : He became an " Upa-dhyaya ", " Pandita " and " Mahapandita" atVikramasila and translated a number of books intoTibetan.

( 14 ) Manjusri : He was a Pandita atVikramasila and a worshipper of Tara.


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56( 15 ) Dharmakirti : He was a native ofTibet. He learnt Sanskrit at Vikrama^ila and

translated many Sanskrit works into Tibetan.( i6 ) Sakyastiribhadra : He was a native of

Kasmira. He was a witness of the tragic destruc-tion of Vikramasila by Moslems.Destruction of Vikramasila

The tragic end of this university came in 1203A.D. at the hands of Bakhtiyar Khilji, an officer ofKutub-ud-din. All the Buddhist monks residingat the place had their heads shaven and they wereall slain. It has been reported that when theinvading Musalmans came across the library of theuniversity, they wanted to know the contents ofthe books and searched for some one to give themthe necessary information. But the carnage hadbeen so mercilessly^thorough that not one was avail-able for the purpose. It is said that the invadersmistook the buildings for a fortress ( and perhapsthe yellow-robed clean-shaven Bhikkhus for soldiersof war ! ) and only later they realised that it was aVihara.

Printed at the M.S. University of Baroda Press ( Sadhana Press ),Raopura, Baroda


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Universities in Ancient India ([19--])