Nalanda

Nalanda (nəlän`də), Buddhist monastic center in what is now Baragaon, Bihar state, E central India. Often referred to as a university, Nalanda was, from the 4th to the 12 cent. A.D., the most renowned center of Buddhist learning in India. There are extensive ruins of stupas, monasteries, and temples.

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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.