[2] The vihara fell in decline in the 11th century, and was looted and destroyed by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkic Muslim invader in the late 1100s, when he launched multiple raids on Bihar and adjoining territories.

[6] A small brass image of Buddha's birth mother Mahamaya, bearing a votive inscription on the back that mentioned the name Uddandapura, was also discovered in Bihar Sharif.

[7] Based on inscriptions along with local tradition and literary evidence, it is believed that the modern town of Bihar Sharif is built on the ancient site of Odantapuri.

[8] About the location of Odantapuri, S.C.Das depending on the account by Sumpa Khan-po (18th century Tibetan polymath) thought that it was “erected on a hill near the town of modern Behar.”[9] However, dge-’dun-chos-’phel stated: “On the railway line from Patna to Rajgir, there is a station called Bihar-Sharif.

[1] The area around Gadh Par (or Garhpar) used to have the remains of an ancient fort[note 1] surrounded by a wide moat, which was visible till the time Buchanan Hamilton visited it in 1812.

[17] Gopala, the founder of the Pala dynasty, who ascended the throne of Bengal in 750 CE, founded the monastic university at Odantapuri.

As a result, while Nalanda was struggling for survival around the 11th century CE, Odantapuri had a rival institution thriving under the royal patronage of Palas.

[19] Taranatha mentions a king called Mahāpāla, who he claims was Mahipala's son, who mainly honoured the Srāvakas of Odantapuri, maintaining five hundred monks and fifty teachers.

[22][23] According to Taranatha, during the reign of Ramapala, along with fifty teachers in Odantapuri "permanently lived a thousand monks belonging to both Hinayana and Mahayana.

"[24][25] The temple library of the Odantapuri vihara was loftier than those at Vajrasana (Bodh Gaya) and Nalanda and contained a vast collection of Brahmanical and Buddhist works.

A tirthika yogi (tantrika) called Narada, who had miraculous powers, sought a strong, brave, and truthful companion versed in all crafts and branches of knowledge, to assist him in a ritual with a corpse (shava sadhana).

In History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Bu-ston recounts the story of Dharmapala's birth and how he built the monastery at Odantapuri.

At an auspicious hour when religious ceremonies for the child were being performed, the head of a serpent haughtily rose up, which caused the king to get enraged.

[31] In around 1193 CE, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkic chieftain out to make a name for himself, was in the service of a commander in Awadh.

Emboldened, Khalji decided to attack a fort in Bihar and was able to successfully capture it, looting it with a great booty.

Minhaj-i-Siraj wrote of this attack:[35]Muhammad-i-Bakht-yar, by the force of his intrepidity, threw himself into the postern of the gateway of the place, and they captured the fortress and acquired great booty.

While many historians believe that this monastery which was mistaken for a fort was Odantapura, some are of the opinion that it was Nalanda instead;[33] even though the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri mentions "Adwand Bihar" among the conquests of Khalji,[36] which is obviously a corruption of the name "Uddandapura vihara".

[39] Taranatha writes that the emperor of Magadha had fortified the monastery and stationed some soldiers with whom the monks joined in repulsing the invaders.