Nālandā monastery, (near) Rajgir, Bihar, IN

Raw data

Founded in the 5th c. AD (Powers 2007:515)
Destroyed 1200 AD by Mahmud Ghori (Powers 2007:515)
Input by: tmciolek, Feb 23 2009

Of interest is how quickly Nālandā rose from a non-site (not even mentioned by Fa-Hien in the early 5th century) and under Gupta patronage was, within a century, the premier teaching university in the Buddhist world, drawing students from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast Asia and China.
See Sukumar Dutt, Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their history and contribution to Indian culture (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. 1962), p. 328 -329, 342 - 343.

Nalanda Sangharama. Lit. Nalanda Monastery, Unwearied Benefactor Monastery. A monastery seven miles north of Rajagriha, built by Sakraditya; now called "Baragong (i. e. viharagrama)." Src: Eitel (1888:104). Located at the seven miles north of Rajagriha at the present-day Baragaon, it was built in by King Sakraditya of the Gupta dynasty and destroyed in the 14th century. Src: Muller (1995a-present)
Input by: tmciolek, Feb 27 2009

Nalanda - Almost a suburb of Rajgir. The monastic university covered an area of several square kilometers, now occupied by modern villages Jagispur and Bargaon (Huntington 1984:108). Nalanda and the nearby Uddandapura
were destroyed by the invading Muslims in 1199 (Huntington 1984:109).

Rajgir, India Page
Other names: Rājagriha,Rajgriha,Rajagriha,Rājgīr
World:India:Bihar State of
Lat 25.0333 Long 85.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html

Barkagaon, India Page
Other names: Barkāgaon
World:India:Bihar State of
Lat 25.2167 Long 84.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Barkagaon.html

Jagdispur, India Page
Other names: Jagdīspur
World:India:Bihar State of
Lat 25.4833 Long 84.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Jagdispur.html

Final data (and their sources)

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 20 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Nalanda monastery, India.

General location of the Nalanda monastery, India.
lat=25.35 long=84.4167
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=25.35+84.4167+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Nalanda%20monastery,%20IN)&ll=25.35,84.4167&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Nālandā monastery (Eitel 1888:104)

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • India:State of Bihar

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

  • Nalanda Sangharama (Eitel 1888:104)
  • Unwearied Benefactor Monastery (Eitel 1888:104)
  • Nalanda Mahavihara - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/322
  • Baragong Viharagrama - Eitel (1888:104)

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

The monastery is situated between

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

[missing data]

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

[missing data]

11. Date-early

  • 400s AD - founded (Powers 2007:515)

12. Date-intermediate

[missing data]

13. Date-late

  • 1199 AD - destroyed by the invading Muslims (Huntington 1884:109)
  • 1200 AD - destroyed by Mahmud Ghori (Powers 2007:515)

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • pilgrim accounts, texts, archaeology, inscriptions

16. Additional notes

  • Xuanzang estimates 10,000 monks at his time there (640's CE). I-tsing [Yìjìng] a century later estimated that there were 3,500 monks.

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

[missing data]

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