Ancient Indian Universities
India has a long history and tradition of learning and thinking, and none of it makes it more evident than the mega universities existing in ancient times before invaders destroyed them. Let's look at a few of them:
Nalanda University:
Located 95kms southeast of Patna near Bihar Sharif, Nalanda was established in the 5th century BC, dedicated to Buddhist studies, fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war.
The university had eight separate compounds, ten temples, meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and parks. It had a nine-story library with 9 million books where monks meticulously copied books and documents. It housed 10,000 students and 2,000 professors. Nalanda attracted pupils and scholars from Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, who left accounts of the centre.
Evidence in the literature suggests that in 1193, Nalanda University was sacked and destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji.
Pushpagiri:
The school in Pushpagiri was established in the 3rd century AD in modern Odisha, with three campuses. The Lalitgiri campus in Cuttack is supposed to be one of the oldest Buddhist establishments in the world, having been established in the 2nd century BC. Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang also mentioned Pushpagiri in his writings. The ruins of Pushpagiri were discovered in 1995 and have since become a tourist spot in Odisha.
Taxila:
Taxila or Takshashila was located in the kingdom of Gandhara (modern day Pakistan-Afghanistan border). Claims to have existed at least since the sixth century BC. Takshashila was an early Hindu and Buddhist centre of learning. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where religious instruction was imparted individually.
Taxila has been mentioned in detail in Jataka tales. Taxila's main claim to fame is from Chanakya, for writing his socio-politic treatise Arthashastra at the university. The alums also include Mauryan emperor Chandragupta and Ayurvedic healer Charaka.
Vikramshila:
Vikramshila was established by King Dharmapala (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda. Present in modern day Bhagalpur, Vikramshila was one of the largest Buddhist universities, with more than one hundred teachers and about 1000 students. Its scholars were renowned for being invited to teach Buddhist learning to foreign countries. It was destroyed by the forces of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200.
