Nalanda (IAST: Nālandā, pronounced [naːlən̪d̪aː]) was a renowned Buddhist mahavihara (great monastery) in ancient and medieval Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India.

[26][27][28][29][30] The curriculum of Nalanda included major Buddhist philosophies like Madhyamaka, Yogachara and Sarvastivada, as well as other subjects like the Vedas, grammar, medicine, logic, mathematics,[31] astronomy[32] and alchemy.

[46] Early Buddhist texts state that Buddha visited a town near Rajagriha (modern Rajgir – the capital of Magadha) called Nalanda on his peregrinations.

[15][50] Chapter 2.7 of the Jaina text Sutrakritanga states that Nalanda is a "suburb" of capital Rajagriha, has numerous buildings, and this is where Mahavira (6th/5th century BCE) spent fourteen varshas – a term that refers to a traditional retreat during monsoons for the monks in Indian religions.

According to Xuanzang, Harsha was a third generation Hindu king from the Vaishya caste, who built majestic Buddhist viharas, as well as three temples – Buddha, Surya and Shiva, all of the same size.

He believed that the aim of his arduous overland journey to India had been achieved as in Shilabhadra he had at last found an incomparable teacher to instruct him in Yogachara, a school of thought that had then only partially been transmitted to China.

[75] In the detailed account of his stay at Nalanda, the pilgrim describes the view out of the window of his quarters thus,[76] Moreover, the whole establishment is surrounded by a brick wall, which encloses the entire convent from without.

[92][93] Inscriptions issued between the 9th and 12th centuries attest gifts and support to Nalanda for the upkeep of the monastery, maintenance of the monks, copying of palm leaf manuscripts (necessary for preservation given the Indian tropical climate).

[97][98] Archeological excavations in the site during 1920-1921 discovered a thick layer of ashes on the uppermost strata, across many buildings separated by some distance; this suggests that Nalanda was subject to a catastrophic fire.

[99] Traditionally, this is held to be arson, blamed upon the troops of Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji who had plundered the region c. 1200 CE, and cited to be the leading cause of Nalanda's demise – a passage from Minhaj-i-Siraj's Tabaqat-i Nasiri which actually describes the destruction of Odantapura Vihar (var.

It is useful because Dharmasvamin met the fleeing monks and famous scholars during his studies from about mid 1200s to 1226, he had learnt Indian languages and Sanskrit, he walked to and stayed in Nepal starting in 1226 and visited Bihar about 1234, including spending one monsoon season in Nalanda.

According to his account, the Turushka-Qarluq (Turk) conquest extended from about 1193 to 1205, the destruction was systematic with "Turushka soldiers razing a monastery to the ground and throwing the stones into Ganges river", states Roerich.

Raja Buddhasena of Magadha honored this Guru and four other Panditas, and about seventy venerable ones (monks).While he stayed there for six months under the tutelage of Rahula Shribhadra, Dharmasvamin makes no mention of the legendary library of Nalanda which possibly did not survive the initial wave of Turko-Afghan attacks.

[105] Dharmasvamin also provides an eyewitness account of an attack on the derelict Mahavihara by the Muslim soldiers stationed at nearby Odantapura (now Bihar Sharif) which had been turned into a military headquarters.

It describes Islamic raids in 12th-century India, states that whole of Magadha fell to the Turushka (Turks, a common term for Muslims in historic Indic and Tibetan texts).

These include stories such as a king Cingalaraja had brought "all Hindus and Turuskas [Muslims]" up to Delhi under his control, and converted from Hinduism to Buddhism under the influence of his queen, and him restoring the monasteries.

Elverskog, relying on Arthur Waley's 1932 paper, states that this is confirmed by the fact a monk ordained in 13th-century Nalanda travelled to the court of Khubilai Khan.

The last throne-holder of Nalanda, Shakyashri Bhadra of Kashmir,[116] fled to Tibet in 1204 at the invitation of the Tibetan translator Tropu Lotsawa (Khro-phu Lo-tsa-ba Byams-pa dpal).

[117][118] He took with him several Indian masters: Sugataśrī, (an expert in Madhyamaka and Prajñāpāramitā); Jayadatta (Vinaya); Vibhūticandra (grammar and Abhidharma), Dānaśīla (logic), Saṅghaśrī (Candavyākaraṇa), Jīvagupta (books of Maitreya), Mahābodhi,(Bodhicaryāvatāra); and Kālacandra (Kālacakra).

[124] After its decline, Nalanda was largely forgotten until Francis Buchanan-Hamilton surveyed the site in 1811–1812 after locals in the vicinity drew his attention to some Buddhist and Hindu images and ruins in the area.

Chandra and final ASI team leaders noted that the "long row of monasteries extend further into the modern village of Bargaon" and the "extent of entire monastic establishment can only be determined by future excavations".

The subjects taught at Nalanda covered every field of learning, and it attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.

[145] The highly formalised methods of Shramanic studies helped the establishment of large teaching institutions such as Taxila, Nalanda, and Vikramashila,[146] which are often characterised as India's early universities.

[159] In his biography of Xuanzang, Hwui-Li states that all the students of Nalanda studied the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) as well as the works of the eighteen Nikaya traditions of Buddhism.

Their plan involves a rectangular form with a central quadrangular court which is surrounded by a verandah which, in turn, is bounded by an outer row of cells for the monks – a typical design of vihara architecture.

The towers as well as the sides of the stairs are decorated with exquisite panels of Gupta-era art depicting a variety of stucco figures including Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, scenes from the Jataka tales.

These include Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, and Gajalakshmi, Kinnaras playing musical instruments, various representations of Makaras, as well as human couples in amorous postures, as well as scenes of art and of everyday life.

[186] However, Huu Phuoc Le – a scholar of Buddhist architecture, questions this purely "Hindu affiliation", stating that it could be a temple based on the mandala principles, and one reflecting "Hindu-Buddhist syncretism" of the 8th to 12th century when Shaiva and Shakti deities were integrated into Vajrayana Buddhism.

2 is also located outside of the monastic enclosure although it is close to it hence it can be inferred that the inclusion of Hindu deities at this site was a "Buddhist attempt at subordinate integration of Brahmanism to Buddhism without employing any confrontationist imagery".

Numerous sculptures, as well as many murals, copper plates, artworks, inscriptions, seals, coins, plaques, potteries and works in stone, bronze, stucco, and terracotta, have been unearthed within the ruins of Nalanda.