“The Musalman invaders sacked the Buddhist Universities of Nalanda, Vikramasila, Jagaddala, Odantapuri to name only a few. They raised to the ground Buddhist monasteries with which the country was studded. The Monks fled away in thousands to Nepal, Tibet and other places outside India. A very large number were killed outright by the Muslim commanders. How the Buddhist priesthood perished by the sword of the Muslim invaders has been recorded by the Muslim historians themselves”. –Dr Babasaheb BR Ambedkar, The Decline and Fall of Buddhism, DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR: WRITINGS AND SPEECHES, Vol 3, P. 232
On June 19, 2024, Bharat witnessed the restoration and resurrection of its knowledge symbol, Nalanda University. The university, conceived as a collaboration between Bharat and the 17 countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2007, was finally realised with the inauguration of the new campus. Many tried to present it as a modern structure with the old name, while others used the historical event to peddle fake narratives about the destruction of Nalanda. Why is reconstruction of this university such an important event beyond structures?
Nalanda means “giver of knowledge”, and Mahavihara, as it used to be called, means the grand monastery. Bharat was seen as the land of knowledge, and seekers from all over the world used to be attracted. Though prominently known for its Buddhist tradition, along with Nalanda, Vikramshila and Odantapuri of the Magadha region, it was known for the rich amalgamation of all knowledge traditions. For over 750 years, Nalanda’s faculty included some of the most revered scholars not just of Mahayana Buddhism but Vedas, grammar, medicine, yoga, astronomy, alchemy, athematics and logic. Even Sanskrit and Pali literary traditions were the favourite options of the students. For that precise reason, the faculty and students ranging from Aryabhata, Dharmapala and Nagarjuna to Yuan Zang, Shilabhadra and Yijing contributed and cherished the amalgamation of integrated knowledge traditions of Bharat. Even Jain texts like Sutrakritanga and Kalpasutra mention Nalanda. Contrary to the colonial narrative, which the Communist historians continue, the university system did not represent any sectarian knowledge tradition based on the Vedic vs Buddhist binary but a complete range of integrated Bharatiya Knowledge Systems.
The residential seat of learning had ten temples, classrooms, meditation halls, monasteries, dormitories and various other facilities including water bodies and parks spread across eight compounds. The campus, spanning an area of 14 hectares, accommodated 2,000 teachers and over 10,000 students, coming from not just various parts of Bharat but from countries like Tibet, China, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Greece, and Persia. According to Tibetan sources, the university was known for its great library, which housed more than nine million manuscripts in three large multi-storeyed buildings. Thus, the university symbolised the best architecture with all environmental concerns. The newly built structure, while maintaining the essence of the old Nalanda, also incorporates contemporary architectural designs and environmental needs, thereby reviving the old idea of Nalanda in a modern context.
The campus’s restoration and revival also represent the resilient idea of Bharat. Wherever Arab, Turk or Mangol invaders attacked and ransacked to establish their religious supremacy, the societies,cultures and civilisations were destroyed entirely. Bharat also lost a large chunk of preserved knowledge and territories through Partition and population through conversion; the oldest civilisation managed to survive and resurrect the old spirit. Islamists attacked the centres of knowledge to destroy the civilisation, as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar also pointed out. Despite the evil design, we saved some of the manuscripts by taking them to other regions, including Tibet and memorising them. Both Hindu and Buddhist kings facilitated this process during the difficult period.
The indomitable spirit of the idea of Bharat is restored with the restoration of Nalanda. It is as significant as reclaiming the other civilisational symbols like Ram Janmabhoomi.
As Nalanda’s new structure is dedicated to the world, it is our responsibility to rekindle the spirit of the Nalanda knowledge tradition and re-establish Bharat as the knowledge giver to the world, a role it has historically played through institutions like Nalanda. By doing so, we can contribute to the global knowledge pool and continue the legacy of Nalanda in the present era, when humanity is trying hard to find synergy between different cultural traditions and a ustainable path to development.
