Nalanda Tourism

Ruins of nalanda University

The Land of Knowledge

The Nalanda name reminds us all of the once greatest place of learning, The Nalanda University. Nalanda district is situated nearly 90 km to southeast of Patna. How the name Nalanda was coined has many legends related to it. However the most logical seems to be the one given by Hiranand Shastri. According to him, the name was derived from two Sanskrit words 'Nalam' and 'Da'. Nalam means lotus stalks which symbolizes knowledge and 'Da' means giver, together 'Nalanda', the knowledge giver. Nalanda became an important Buddhist and Jain pilgrimage destination as it was regularly visited by Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira.

Nalanda came into prominence after Nalanda University was founded in 5th century by the Gupta Emperors. Nalanda University was one of the first residential universities in the world with dormitories for its students. There were approximately 10000 students and 2000 teachers from around the world. This also made Nalanda the first international university in the world. The university had lofty walls, one gate, meditation halls along with hundreds of classrooms. One of the most important feature of the university was the library atop a nine storey building where punctilious copies of texts were produced. The courses of study in Nalanda covered all the fields of learning. It included scriptures of Buddhism, Vedas, Hetu Vidya (logic), Shabda Vidya (grammer), Chikitsa Vidya (medicine) etc. The university remained among the best places to study in the world till it was destroyed by Bakhtiar Khilji in 12th century.

Today, Nalanda is strewn with ruin of many Buddhist structures, stupas and pillars with numerous carvings on it. There are number of monasteries as well here. The best time to visit Nalanda is between October and March during the temperature and climate are very conducive to traveling.

The Glory of Ruins

On top of the list of attractions that tourist wish to see in Nalanda is definitely the ruins of Nalanda University. However there is lot more to see in Nalanda like the Archaeological museum, Huien Tsang Memorial hall and nearby excursions sites in Rajgir, Pawapuri and Gaya.