Nalanda University, often hailed as one of the world’s first residential universities, stands as an enduring testament to the architectural and intellectual prowess of ancient India.
Stairs across tym…. 5th, 7th & 9th century…built n rebuilt…. saw devastation across the centuries and finally forgotten until the 19th century…. when excavations commenced in 1915 which unearthed several monasteries and brick temples…. walking through the ruins pulls you back in time…
Nalanda…..a large Buddhist monastery in the ancient kingdom of Magadha… Abode of knowledge….. The highly formalized methods of Vedic learning helped inspire its establishment…
At the heart of Nalanda stood the Mahavihara, a central quadrangular structure that housed classrooms, lecture halls, and meditation chambers. This imposing building was surrounded by a series of smaller viharas (residential cells) for monks and students. I was teleported to a different time of knowledge…
We mostly get to know of Nalanda from the writings of pilgrim monks from East Asia…. it was a center of global learning,…. endured through time. Sadly, Nalanda University met its decline and eventual destruction in the 12th century during foreign invasions, but its legacy hold past glory……
