Abhay K: “Nalanda was an international melting pot where scholars flocked”

Why did you write a book on Nalanda Mahavihara? Why did this ancient centre of learning excite your curiosity?

I was born and raised in the Nalanda district of Bihar. Yet, much about Nalanda was a mystery to me. I wanted to understand why Nalanda became such a celebrated Buddhist monastery-university, what was taught there, who taught there and what contributions it made. I wanted to know whether it was destroyed suddenly or if the decline took place over a period of time. These questions came to my mind whenever I visited the ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara. I did not find answers to these questions easily from one source. To satisfy my curiosity, I began researching various resources available. During this process, I found some startling facts that I was not aware of. Therefore, I decided to write a book on Nalanda that could provide comprehensive information addressing these questions.

What was it like to visit the ruins while conducting research?

I have been visiting the ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara since my childhood and always felt a sense of overarching calm and tranquillity in its precincts. However, when I visited the ruins while conducting research for this book, I saw it afresh. Images of venerated teachers, monks and patrons who contributed to making Nalanda a celebrated university filled my mind. I felt that centuries that had gone by came back alive all at once. I could hear the sound and murmur of life coming out of Nalanda’s courtyards, temples and monasteries.

According to the book, Nalanda Mahavihara developed from a stupa that emperor Ashoka built in memory of Gautama Buddha’s disciple Sariputra, who attained nirvana there. Was it both, a centre of pilgrimage and a university? Were such distinctions made in those times?

The stupa of Sariputra is the nucleus around which the Nalanda Mahavihara developed. 11 viharas and three chaityas flank the eastern and western sides of the principal south-north axis emanating from the sacred centre of the great stupa of Sariputra. The initial building phase from the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE shows a clustered layout of the viharas around the Sariputra stupa, while from the 4th century onwards, the layout becomes linear, marking a physical segregation of sacred and secular functions.

Nalanda Mahavihara nurtured several Buddhist scholars and monastics including Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti, Shantideva, Kamalashila and Atisha from the 4th to the 14th century CE. What made the institution so sought after?

Nalanda nurtured a number of great scholars, philosophers, translators, poets, mathematicians, logicians, artisans, architects and astronomers, who contributed immensely to various fields such as Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit grammar, language and literature which transformed the social, economic, political, religious and cultural landscape of Asia and the world. Nalanda was truly an international melting pot during the time of its existence where scholars flocked from all directions.

A wide range of subjects was taught at Nalanda, which included texts of the Mahayana and other 18 sects of Buddhism as well as Vedas, Brahmanas and other books, the Hetuvidya, the Sabdavidya and the Chikitsavidya, the works of magic (Atharvaveda), the Sankhya, besides ‘miscellaneous’ works such as philology, law, philosophy, astronomy and the Sanskrit grammar of Panini. Nalanda was a peaceful battleground for various philosophical strands, ideas and thoughts, sects and creeds engaged in arguments and scholarly debates. Intellectual and philosophical differences were a cause of celebration, and monks had the freedom of thought, expression and belief.

There were many Buddhist Mahaviharas in India but none matched the grandeur of Nalanda. As per the Tibetan accounts, Nalanda possessed a well-equipped library, which was known as the Dharmaganja, the ‘Mountain of Truth’. It contained three divisions: Ratnadadhi, the ‘Sea of Jewels’, the Ratnasagara, the ‘Ocean of Jewels’, and the Ratnaranjaka, the ‘Jewel-Adorned’. Ratnasagara was a nine-storey edifice. Its rich collection included rare sacred texts such as Prajnaparamita-sutra and Tantra books like Samajaguhya, among others.

Indian and foreign monks from distant places like China, Korea, Tibet and Tokhara (Bactria) came to India to study and copy valuable Buddhist manuscripts at Nalanda.

Over centuries, Nalanda Mahavihara became a celebrated seat of learning, because of its historical, religious and philosophical importance, its proximity to power and its location in the fertile Gangetic plains.

Nalanda Mahavihara had several visiting foreign scholars from China, Korea and other places, most notably Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, Hyecho and Bodhidharma. What kind of institutional support was available for translation in their times?

The foreign scholars who visited Nalanda, had already learned Sanskrit before arriving at Nalanda, either before the onset of their journey or at one of the entrepôts on the way to Nalanda. At Nalanda, they had full access to the great sutra library of Dharmaganja, where they could copy sutras for taking them back home. There were villages full of scribes, attached to the great monastery, who helped in copying sutras. Xuanzang carried 657, while Yijing carried 400 texts back home to China. Xuanzang set up a translation bureau and started translating those texts only after his return to China, while Yijing translated some of the texts during his stay in Sumatra on his way back to China.

To what extent can the development of Vajrayana Buddhism be attributed to Nalanda Mahavihara? Why?

Vajrayana, also known as Mantrayana or Tantrayana, is a school of thought of Mahayana that evolved at the Nalanda Mahavihara and has its roots in the Yogacara philosophy practised at Nalanda. It symbolizes the union of male and female, emphasizing the practice of indivisibility of wisdom and compassion. Its practice is characterized by mantra dharani (chanting), the making of mandalas (Buddhist devotional images) and mudras (ritual gestures), all of which were extensively used. While Tantrayana lost followers in India — especially in eastern India — after the fall of Nalanda and other Mahaviharas in Eastern India, it gained popularity in Tibet, Mongolia and East Asia. Acharya Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) carried the Tantric Buddhist principles developed at Nalanda to Tibet. Assimilating the same with the local Bon religion, Acharya Padamsambhava made Buddhism acceptable to the wider society in Tibet, which accepted it as its state religion. He is also credited with having established the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, from which other schools of Tibetan Buddhism originate.

There are many theories, conjectures and explanations about the decline/downfall of Nalanda Mahavihara. Which of these seem most convincing to you, and why?

The decline of Nalanda can be examined over a time span stretching centuries. The immediate cause of the decline of Nalanda was the foreign invasion of north and central India and destruction of a network of Buddhist monasteries in Magadha (present-day Bihar) and the support systems that sustained these monasteries including the one by Bakhtiyar Khalji.

Bakhtiyar Khalji and his troops raided several Buddhist monasteries of Magadha. He even planned to loot the rich monasteries of Tibet to gather more wealth.

After destroying the Buddhist monastery of Telhara, he moved to Odantapuri and destroyed it. After consolidating his position and establishing his administrative centre at Odantapuri, he and his soldiers prepared for an assault on Nalanda. The Persian historian Minhaj-i Siraj mentions in his work Tabaqat-i-Nasri, the invasion of Odantapuri by Bakhtiyar Khalji in 1193 CE. Nalanda was probably just one among the many monasteries he raided, which does not figure in Minhaj-i’s chronicles, but it is improbable that Nalanda Mahavihara which is located just 16 kilometres away from Odantapuri (modern day Biharsharif) was spared by him.

Besides, the intermediate cause of decline of Nalanda was resurgence of Brahmanical Hinduism which subsumed the Vajrayana or tantric form of Buddhism that had started resembling the ritualistic Shaivism. The deepening factionalism within Buddhism itself further weakened it by the end of the ninth century CE, while the long-term cause of Nalanda’s decline was the protracted withdrawal of royal patronage to Buddhism. While Bakhtiyar Khalji’s raids damaged the network and the support system of Buddhist monasteries in East India physically, the declining patronage and deepening political instability prevented the repair and establishment of new Buddhist monasteries.

What are the continuities that you notice between Nalanda Mahavihara in ancient Magadh and Nalanda University in contemporary Bihar?

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, proposed the revival of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara while addressing a joint session of the Bihar State Legislative Assembly in 2006. The Nalanda University Act, 2010 was passed by both houses of the Parliament of India. It became fully functional in September 2014, with the first batch of students. A diversified curriculum, an international faculty and students, its exquisite architecture and its six-storey library resembling Nalanda’s Dharmaganja Library are reminiscent of the Nalanda Mahavihara of yore.

What role can Nalanda University play in strengthening India’s diplomatic relations with its neighbours and other countries?

The new campus of the Nalanda University was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2024. On this occasion, he also planted a sapling of the Bodhi tree — an enduring symbol of Buddhist heritage of Indian spirituality at the campus. Ambassadors of 17 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam) were present during the inauguration. On this occasion, PM Modi said — ‘Nalanda is not just a renaissance of India’s past. The heritage of many countries of the world and Asia is linked to it.’

Nalanda’s fame seems to be growing by the day. Beyond India, Nalanda has inspired the establishment of its namesakes across the world, representing its intriguing continuity. As our planet faces multiple crisis, Nalanda’s timeless tradition of imparting knowledge, wisdom, and kindness can guide humanity toward overcoming hatred, anger, frustration, and greed, while fostering inner and outer peace.

Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based writer, journalist and educator who has been involved in various India-Pakistan peace initiatives and advocacy for LGBTQ rights. His prose and poetry have appeared in books like 101 Indian Children’s Books We Love, Bent Book: A Queerish Anthology, Fearless Love, Clear Hold Build, and Borderlines. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.