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
"Nalanda was established in the 5th century AD in Bihar, India.[22]. Founded in 427 in northeastern India, not far from what is today the southern border of Nepal, it survived until 1197. It was devoted to Buddhist studies, but it also trained students in fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war.[23].
The center had eight separate compounds, 10 temples, meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and parks. It had a nine-story library where monks meticulously copied books and documents so that individual scholars could have their own collections. It had dormitories for students, perhaps a first for an educational institution, housing 10,000 students in the university’s heyday and providing accommodation for 2,000 professors. [24] Nalanda University attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
Final data (and their sources)
Last updated: 21 Mar 2013
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.
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:
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)
- Nalendra (Tib.) - https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/wiki/tibetantexts/Na%20Len%20Dra.html
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- The monastery is situated between
- Approx. [Barkagaon] Lat 25.2167 Long 84.4167 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Barkagaon.html
- Approx. [Jagdispur] Lat 25.4833 Long 84.4167 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Jagdispur.html
- The above suggests the following value: Approx Lat 25.35 Long 84.4167 - tmciolek, Feb 27 2009
5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries
- About 6 miles away from Uddaṇḍapura monastery - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odantapuri
- About 21 miles east of Telhara monastery
- About 10 miles SW from Rohinila monastery
- About 12 km west of Ghosrawan monastery
6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village
7. The settlement's alternative/historical names
- Rājagriha http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html
- Rajgriha http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html
- Rajagriha http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html
- Rājgīr http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html
8. The settlement's coordinates
- Approx., Lat 25.0333 Long 85.4167 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/34/Rajgir.html
9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition
- [missing data]
10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition
- [missing data]
11. Date-early
- Founded in 427 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
- 400s AD - founded (Powers 2007:515)
- MBM chrono-tag: 0400-32c - tmciolek 13 Dec 2012
- 0400-32c 0433-66c 0467-99c 0500-32c 0533-66c 0567-99c 0600-32c 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c dated-el
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)
- It operated until 1197 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
- MBM chrono-tag: 1167-99c - tmciolek 13 Dec 2012
14. Details of contacts with other monasteries
- Cultural and social links with Somapura monastery in Bengal (now in Bangladesh) - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/322
- Links with Hemis monastery via the monk Naropa [ven-naropa]
- Close collaborative links with the nearby Ghosrawan monastery, which acted as a Nalanda's external campus - http://www.bhpromo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=68
- Naropa [ven-naropa, the celebrated Indian teacher who lectured in the universities of Nalanda and Vikramasila subsequently establishes the Zongkhul monastery - http://www.koausa.org/Ladakh/zanskar.html
- Nalanda University attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
- "Kamalaśīla (fl. 713-763) [ven-kamalasila] was an Indian Buddhist of Nalanda Mahavihara who accompanied Śāntarakṣita (725–788)[1] to Tibet at the request of Trhisongdetsen." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamalaśīla
- "Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित) (725-788)[1] [ven-santaraksita] was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śāntarakṣita
- Contacts with Purushapura monastery via Viradeva [ven-viradeva] - Chatterjee (2011:10)
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.
- The monastery housed 10,000 students in the university’s heyday and provided accommodation for 2,000 professors - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Universities_of_Pakistan#Asia
17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by
- [missing data]
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