Home12th Century

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." (German: "Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen.")—Heinrich Heine, from his play Almansor (1821)

• About Nalanda. (1173).
  "Nalanda, a part of the Budhist circuit, is famous for the the ancient International Monastic University. Established in 5th century BC by the Gupta Emperors, it was a famous learning centres in ancient times. The university had centres for studies in Buddhism, Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Medicine, Meta-Physics, Prose Composition and Rhetoric. Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira have also taught here. The university library had a mammoth collection of 9 million volumes. The university remains are scattered around an area of 14 hectares. Though a large part of the university has been explored, a huge portion remains unexcavated. It is believed that the university could accommodate 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers easily. Hsuan Tsang, the renowned Chinese traveler was also involved with the university foe 12 years. There is a monument built here in his memory. In 12th century AD, the whole university complex was destroyed by Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkish Invader. There is a museum where the rare collections of the glorious days can be seen. In 1951 an international center for Buddhist studies was founded. Another modern institution is the Nava Nalanda Mahavir Research Centre treasuring many rare manuscripts."

• Nalanda.
  "Buddhist monastic centre, often spoken of as a university, in northern Bihar state, India. Though it is traditionally dated to the time of the Buddha (6th–5th centuries BC), archaeological excavations date its foundations to the 5th century AD. It housed a population of several thousand teachers and students. Topics studied included logic, grammar, astronomy, and medicine. The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing provided vivid accounts of Nalanda in the late 7th century. Nalanda continued to flourish through the 12th century and became a centre of religious sculpture. It was probably sacked during Muslim raids c. 1200 and never recovered."

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