Nalanda is known as the ancient seat of learning, where ruins of the great ancient university have been excavated, is situated at a distance of 90 km south east of Patna by road & 62 kms from Bodhgaya. It falls on way to Rajgir. It is also linked by rail with Patna, Rajgir and Bakhtiyarpur (on Delhi-Howrah main track).
Hieun Tsang, the renowned Chinese traveller of the seventh century, says that according to tradition the place owed its name to aNaga of the same name which resided in a local tank. But he thinks it more probable that Lord Buddha, in one of his previous births as Bodhisatwa, became a king with his capital at this place and that his liberality won for him and his capital the name Nalanda or "Charity without intermission". The third theory about the name of the place is that it derived from Nalam plus da. Nalam means lotus which is a symbol for knowledge and Da means given the place had many lotuses.
Nalanda has a very ancient history. It was frequently visited by Lord Vardhamana Mahavir and Lord Buddha in the 6th century BC. during his sajourns, the Lord Buddha found this place prosperous, swelling, teeming with population and containing mango-groves. It is also supposed to be the birth place of Sariputra, one of the Chief disciple of the Lord Buddha.
The University of Nalanda was founded in the 5th century by the Gupta emperors. There were thousands of students and teachers. The courses of study included scriptures of Buddhism (both Mahayana and Hinayana Schools), Vedas, Hetu Vidya (Logic), Shabda Vidya (grammar), Chikitsa vidya (medicine) etc. The university received royal patronage of the great emperor Harshavardhana of Kannauj and also pala kings.
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