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Nalanda University (also known as University of Nalanda) is the name of a proposed university in Rajgir, near Nalanda, Bihar, India. The first academic session is set to start from 2014.[4] The university is a plan for reviving and re-establishing Nalanda University which was one of the oldest ancient higher-learning institutions. Originally the university was established in the 5th century AD by Gupta Kings.

Historical studies suggest that the University of Nalanda was established during the reign of a king called Śakrāditya.[5] Both Xuanzang and Prajñavarman cite him as the founder, as does a seal discovered at the site.[6] Nalanda University was the first great university in recorded history[7] and one of the world's first residential university as it had dormitories for students. It is also one of the most famous universities. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers.[8] The university was considered an architectural masterpiece, and was marked by a lofty wall and one gate. Nalanda had eight separate compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and classrooms. On the grounds were lakes and parks. The library was located in a nine storied building where meticulous copies of texts were produced. The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim and scholar Xuanzang studied, taught and spent nearly 15 years at Nalanda University.[9] He has left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century.[10] Yijing has also left information about the other kingdoms lying on the route between China and the Nālandāuniversity. He was responsible for the translation of a large number of Buddhistscriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. Destruction and demise[edit] According to records of history, Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but only rebuilt twice. The first time was by the Huns under Mihirakuladuring the reign of Skandagupta (455–467 AD). But Skanda's successors promptly undertook the restoration, improving it with even grander buildings, and endowed it with enough resources to let the university sustain itself in the longer term.[11] The second destruction came with an assault by the Gaudas in the early 7th century. This time, the Hindu king Harshavardhana (606–648 AD) restored the Buddhist university.[11] The final blow came when it was violently destroyed in an Turkic attack led by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.[11] In 1193, the Nalanda University was sacked byBakhtiyar Khilji, a Muslim Turk;[12] this event is seen by scholars as a late milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. The Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle the Tabaquat-I-Nasiri, reported that thousands of monks were burned alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism.[citation needed] Academia[edit] At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Turkey, Greece, andPersia.[8][13][14] The subjects taught included religion, history, law, linguistics, medicine, public health, architecture, metallurgy,pharmacology, sculpture and astronomy. Notable scholars who studied at Nalanda included Emperor Ashoka, Harshavardhana, Vasubandhu, Dharmapala, Suvishnu, Asanga,Silabhadra, Dharmakirti, Shantarakshita, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Padmasambhava (the reputed founder of Buddhism in Tibet), Xuanzangand Hwui Li.[15] Formation and reconstruction[edit] Nalanda University Bill[edit] On 28 March 2006 then President of India A.P.J.Abdul Kalam proposed the idea while addressing the Joint Session of the Bihar Vidhan Mandal for revival of Nalanda university. The Nalanda University Bill, 2010[16] was passed on 21 August 2010 in Rajya Sabha and 26 August 2010 in Lok Sabha. The bill received Presidential assent on 21 September 2010[17] thereby becoming an Act. The University came into existence on 25 November 2010, when the Act was implemented. International funding[edit] Japan and Singapore are financing the construction work, with contributions totalling around US$100 million.[18] Gopa Sabharwal has been appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of this university in February 2011. It has been estimated that US$500m will be required to build the new facility, with a further US$500m needed to sufficiently improve the surrounding infrastructure. The group is looking for donations from governments, private individuals and religious groups.[8] The State Government of Bihar handed over 443 acres of sprawling land acquired from local people, to the University, where construction work has begun. It is a dream project of the former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam.[19] Infrastructure and architecture[edit] For best architectural design, a global competition was held for construction of an international state-of-the-art institution.[20][21] Vastu Shilpa Consultants have been selected as the winner of the design competition with dbHMS providing the triple net-zero energy, water and waste strategic plan.[22] Nālandā was an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.[1] The site is located about 88 kilometres south east of Patna, and was a religious center of learning from the fifth century AD to 1197 AD.[2][3] Nalanda flourished between the reign of the Śakrāditya (whose identity is uncertain and who might have been either Kumara Gupta I or Kumara Gupta II) and 1197 AD, supported by patronage from the HinduGupta rulers as well as Buddhist emperors like Harsha and later emperors from thePala Empire.[4] The complex was built with red bricks and its ruins occupy an area of 14 hectares. (488 by 244 metres)[5] At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia.[6] Nalanda was ransacked and destroyed by a Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. The great library of Nalanda University was so vast that it is reported to have burned for three months after the invaders set fire to it, ransacked and destroyed the monasteries, and drove the monks from the site. In 2006, Singapore, China, India, Japan, and other nations, announced a proposed plan to restore and revive the ancient site as Nalanda International University. History of the university and the Gupta heyday[edit] Some historical studies suggest that the University of Nalanda was established during the reign of a king called Śakrāditya, of the Gupta Dynasty.[7] Both Xuanzang and Prajñavarman cite him as the founder, as does a seal discovered at the site.[4] As historian Sukumar Dutt describes it, the history of Nalanda university "falls into two main divisions—first, one of growth, development and fruition from the sixth century to the ninth, when it was dominated by the liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age; the second, one of gradual decline and final dissolution from the ninth century to the thirteen—a period when the tantric developments of Buddhism became most pronounced in eastern India."[8] When Yijing, Chinese Buddhist, visited Nalanda in 673–695, there were eight colleges, having as many as 300 rooms.[9] Nalanda in the Pāla era[edit] Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva.Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtramanuscript. Nālandā, Pāla period A number of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Bengal and Magadha. According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura, Odantapurā, andJaggadala.[10] The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and there existed "a system of co-ordination among them . . it seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.[11] During the Pālā period, the Nālānda was less singularly outstanding, as other Pāla establishments "must have drawn away a number of learned monks from Nālānda when all of them ... came under the aegis of the Pālās."[8] Decline and end[edit] Evidence in literature suggests that in 1193, the Nalanda University was sacked by[12] Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turk.[13] The Persian historianMinhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle the Tabaqat-I-Nasiri, reported that thousands of monks were burned alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism. The burning of the library continued for several months and "smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pall over the low hills."[14] The last throne-holder of Nalanda, Shakyashribhadra, fled to Tibet in 1204 at the invitation of the Tibetan translator Tropu Lotsawa (Khro-phu Lo-tsa-ba Byams-pa dpal). In Tibet, he started an ordination lineage of the Mulasarvastivada lineage to complement the two existing ones. When the Tibetan translator Chag Lotsawa (Chag Lo-tsa-ba, 1197–1264) visited the site in 1235, he found it damaged and looted, with a 90-year-old teacher, Rahula Shribhadra, instructing a class of about 70 students.[15][16] During Chag Lotsawa's time there an incursion by Turkic soldiers caused the remaining students to flee. Despite all this, "remnants of the debilitated Buddhist community continued to struggle on under scarce resources until c. 1400 when Chagalaraja was reportedly the last king to have patronized Nalanda."[17] D.C. Ahir considers the destruction of the temples, monasteries, centres of learning at Nalanda and northern India to be responsible for the demise of ancient Indian scientific thought in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and anatomy.[18] Nalanda was one of the world's first residential universities, i.e., it had dormitories for students. It is also one of the most famous universities. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. Chinese pilgrims estimated the students between 3,000 and 5,000.[19] The university was considered an architectural masterpiece, and was marked by a lofty wall and one gate. Nalanda had eight separate compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and classrooms. On the grounds were lakes and parks. The library was located in a nine storied building where meticulous copies of texts were produced. The subjects taught at Nalanda University covered every field of learning, and it attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.[3] During the period of Harsha, the monastery is reported to have owned 200 villages given as grants.

The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forest of pavilions, harmikas and temples seemed to "soar above the mists in the sky" so that from their cells the monks "might witness the birth of the winds and clouds."[20] The pilgrim states: "An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade."[21] The entrance of many of the viharas in the Nalanda University ruins can be seen with a bow marked floor; the bow was the royal sign of the Guptas. Structure[edit] The library at Nalanda University was an immense complex. Called the Dharmaganja, or Piety Mart, it was separated into three large buildings: the Ratnasagara, the Ratnadadhi, and the Ratnaranjaka. The Ratnadadhi, meaning the Ocean of Gems, was nine stories high and housed the most sacred manuscripts including the Prajnaparamita Sutra and the Samajguhya.[22] The towers were supposedly immense, bejewelled and gilded to reflect the rays of the sun.[23] According to the Bhaskara Samhita, an ancient text on organizational practices, the library was to be built in a “finely built stone building” and each manuscript would have been placed on iron shelves or stack and covered with cloth and tied up. Furthermore, the librarian in charge, according to the text, was not only responsible for maintaining the materials but also for guiding readers in their studies[24] The exact number of volumes of the Nalanda University Library is not known but it is estimated to have been in the hundreds of thousands.[25] The library not only collected religious manuscripts but also had texts on such subjects as grammar, logic, literature, astrology, astronomy, and medicine.[26] Classification[edit] It is clear that Nalanda University library had a classification scheme[27] which was possibly based on a text classification scheme developed by the great Sanskrit linguist Panini.[28] Buddhists texts were most likely divided in three classes based on the Tripitaka’s three main divisions: the Vinaya, Sutra, and the Abhidamma.[29] Like most other Indian ancient and medieval period libraries, Nalanda would have used a basic catalogue to help patrons find materials. This bibliography, or Anukamanikas, would have listed the books by hymns, authors, form of sutras, Rishi’s name, and the hymnal metre.[30] Destruction[edit] The library was destroyed in 1197–1203 during the Muslim invasion in which Bakhtiyar Khalji sacked it and set it to flames.[31]According to Tibetan legend, the university and library were reportedly repaired shortly after by Muditabhadra, a Buddhist sage. Unfortunately, the library was again burned by Tirthaka mendicants.[32] In Nalanda university,the Tibetan tradition holds that there were "four doxographies" (Tibetan:grub-mtha’) which were taught at Nālandā, and Alexander Berzin specifies these as:[33] 1.	Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika 2.	Sarvāstivāda Sautrāntika 3.	Mādhyamaka, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Nāgārjuna 4.	Cittamatra, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu According to an unattributed article of the Dharma Fellowship (2005), the curriculum of Nalanda University at the time of Mañjuśrīmitra contained: ...virtually the entire range of world knowledge then available. Courses were drawn from every field of learning, Buddhist and Hindu, sacred and secular, foreign and native. Students studied science, astronomy, medicine, and logic as diligently as they applied themselves to metaphysics, philosophy, Samkhya, Yoga-shastra, the Veda, and the scriptures of Buddhism. They studied foreign philosophy likewise. In the 7th century, Xuanzang records the number of teachers at Nālandā as being around 1510.[34] Of these, approximately 1000 were able to explain 20 collections of sūtras and śāstras, 500 were able to explain 30 collections, and only 10 teachers were able to explain 50 collections.[34] Xuanzang was among the few who were able to explain 50 collections or more.[34] At this time, only the abbot Śīlabhadra had studied all the major collections of sūtras and śāstras at Nālandā.[34] The Chinese monk Yijing wrote that matters of discussion and administration at Nālandā would require assembly and consensus on decisions by all those at the assembly, as well as resident monks:[35] If the monks had some business, they would assemble to discuss the matter. Then they ordered the officer, Vihārapāla, to circulate and report the matter to the resident monks one by one with folded hands. With the objection of a single monk, it would not pass. There was no use of beating or thumping to announce his case. In case a monk did something without consent of all the residents, he would be forced to leave the monastery. If there was a difference of opinion on a certain issue, they would give reason to convince (the other group). No force or coercion was used to convince. Xuanzang also writes: "The lives of all these virtuous men were naturally governed by habits of the most solemn and strictest kind. Thus in the seven hundred years of the monastery's existence no man has ever contravened the rules of the discipline. The king showers it with the signs of his respect and veneration and has assigned the revenue from a hundred cities to pay for the maintenance of the religious."[21] Influence on Buddhism[edit] A vast amount of what came to comprise Tibetan Buddhism, both its Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, stems from the late (9th–12th century) Nalanda teachers and traditions. The scholar Dharmakirti (ca. 7th century), one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophicallogic, as well as and one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, taught at Nalanda. Other forms of Buddhism, such as the Mahāyāna Buddhism followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, flourished within the walls of the ancient university. A number of scholars have associated some Mahāyāna texts such as the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, an important sūtra in East Asian Buddhism, with the Buddhist tradition at Nālandā.[36][37] Ron Epstein also notes that the general doctrinal position of the sūtra does indeed correspond to what is known about the Buddhist teachings at Nālandā toward the end of the Gupta period when it was translated.[38] According to Hwui-Li, a Chinese visitor, Nālandā was held in contempt by some Sthaviras for its emphasis on Mahayana philosophy. They reportedly chided King Harṣa for patronising Nalanda during one of his visits to Odisha, mocking the "sky-flower" philosophy taught there and suggesting that he might as well patronise a Kapalika temple.[39] When this occurred, Harṣa notified the chancellor of Nālandā, who sent the monks Sāgaramati, Prajñāraśmi, Siṃharaśmi, and Xuanzang to refute the views of the monks from Odisha.[40] A number of ruined structures survive. Nearby is the Surya Mandir, a Hindu temple. The known and excavated ruins extend over an area of about 150,000 square metres, although ifXuanzang's account of Nalanda's extent is correlated with present excavations, almost 90% of it remains unexcavated. Nālandā is no longer inhabited. Today the nearest habitation is a village called Bargaon. In 1951, a modern centre for Pali (Theravadin) Buddhist studies was founded nearby by Bhikshu Jagdish Kashyap, the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara.[41] Presently, this institute is pursuing an ambitious program of satellite imaging of the entire region. The Nalanda Museum contains a number of manuscripts, and shows many examples of the items that have been excavated. India's first Multimedia Museum was opened on 26 January 2008, which recreates the history of Nalanda using a 3D animation film narrated by Shekhar Suman. Besides this there are four more sections in the Multimedia Museum: Geographical Perspective, Historical Perspective, Hall of Nalanda and Revival of Nalanda.

Brahmo Samaj (Bengali ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is the societal component of Brahmoism, amonotheistic reformist and renaissance movement of Hindu religion. It is practised today mainly as theAdi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy. It was one of the most influential religious reformist movements[1] responsible for the making of modernIndia.[2] It was started at Calcutta on 20 August 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Debendranath Tagoreas reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin practices) and began theBengal Renaissance of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century. Its Trust Deed was made in 1830 formalising its inception and it was duly and publicly inaugurated in January 1830 by the consecration of the first house of prayer, now known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj.[3] From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, one of the recent sects or faiths of Hinduism. It is not recognised in India as a separate religion distinct from Hinduism despite its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice" [4] though the position is different inBangladesh.[5] Meaning of name The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes community (Sanskrit: samaj) of men who worshipBrahma the Creator.[6] In reality Brahmo Samaj does not discriminate between caste, creed or religion and is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."[7]

Social and religious reform[edit] In all fields of social reform, including abolition of the caste system and of the dowry system, emancipation of women, and improving the educational system, the Brahmo Samaj reflected the ideologies of the Bengal Renaissance. Brahmoism, as a means of discussing the dowry system, was a central theme of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's noted 1914 Bengali language novella, Parineeta. In 1866, Keshub Chunder Sen organised the more radical "Brahmo Samaj of India" with overtones of Christianity. He campaigned for the education of women and against child marriages. But he nonetheless arranged a marriage for his own underage daughter. TheBrahmo Samaj of India split after this act of underage marriage generated a controversy and his pro-British utterances and leaning towards Christian rites generated more controversies. A third group, "Sadharan (ordinary) Brahmo Samaj", was formed in 1878. It gradually reverted to the teaching of the Upanishads but continued the work of social reform. The movement, always an elite group without significant popular following, lost force in the 20th century. After the controversy of underage marriage of Keshub Chunder Sen's daughter, the Special Marriages Act of 1872 was enacted to set the minimum age of 14 years for marriage of girls.[8] All Brahmo marriages were thereafter solemnised under this law. Many Indians resented the requirement of the affirmation "I am not Hindu, nor a Mussalman, nor a Christian" for solemnising a marriage under this Act. The requirement of this declaration was imposed by Henry James Sumner Maine, legal member of Governor General's Council appointed by Britain. The 1872 Act was repealed by the Special Marriage Act, 1954 under which any person of any religion could marry. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 applies to all Hindus including followers of the Brahmo Samaj. In India the statutory minimum age of marriage for followers of Brahmo Samaj is the same as for all Indians, viz., 21 years for males and 18 years for females. It is also the age marriage in Bangladesh.

During the Gupta age many achievements were recorded in the field of mathematics and astronomy were cultivated. Illustrious figures like Aryabhatta and Barahamihira flourished during this age. Aryabhatta wrote his treatise Aryabhattiyam in 499 A.D., which was the first to treat mathematics as a separate subject dealing with arithmetic, geometry, algebra and probably trigonometry. He was the first Indian astronomer to discover that the earth was a sphere and rotated on its axis. His calculation of the size of the earth was very near to modern estimation. In his famous book Surysiddhanta he explains that the lunar eclipse was due to the shadow of the earth falling on the moon. His unique contribution to the world of science was to place the value of numbers from 1 to 9 and the use of zero and the consequent evolution of the decimal system. Hence, it is no wonder that the first Indian satellite sent to the space was named after him.

Another astronomer and natural scientist was Barahamihira. He divided astronomy into three branches - Tanta (astronomy and mathematics), Hora (horoscope) and Samhita (astrology). His work, Brihat-Samhita is an encyclopedia on astronomy and Brihatjataka and Laghujataka works on astrology. Aryabhatta and Barahamihira were well acquainted with the contemporary Greek astronomy and their works clearly contain many Greek technical terms. Latadeva was a well-known scientist and a disciple of Aryabhatta. He wrote Paulisa and Romaka Siddhanta, Brahmagupta was another famous astronomer and mathematician who anticipated Newton by declaring that "all things fall to the earth by law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to attract and keep things." His Brahmagupta Sidhanta was a great work. The period showed a keen interest in medical science. The earlier works Charaka Samhita of Charaka and Susruta Samhita of Susruta were considered guidebooks on medicine and surgery. The Ashtanga-Samgraha by Vagbhata was a systematic summary of Charaka and Sustuta.The Navanitakamwas another medical work on recipes, formulas and prescriptions. Palakapya was the author of Hastayurveda, a treatise on veterinary science dealing with diseases of elephants. Chemistry and metallurgy made striking progress during the period. The rustless Iron Pillar of Mehrauli in Delhi shows the progress of metallurgy during the priod. The pillar even with huge structure of (24 feet height and 40 C.M. diameters) has withstand the vavages of time for more that 1500 years. A number of bronze and copper images of Buddha have also survived. Hieun Tsang reports that he saw a 25 meter high copper statue of Buddha. There was great progress in science during the age of the Guptas. Several important scientific advancements were made and there were several notable scientists during the period. One of the main achievements was the progress made in metallurgy. One of the most amazing examples is the Iron pillar located in New Delhi. This pillar which has been exposed to the ravages of time and weather for about 1600 years has yet to rust! The coins of the period and the 25 metre tall copper statue of Buddha at Nalanda are also evidence of development in this area.

One of the most famous scientists of the period was Aryabhatta, a great mathematician and astronomer. Aryabhatta calculated the value of p ,also developed the formula for calculating the area of a triangle. He also proved that the earth revolves around the sun and rotates on its own axis. He used this knowledge to discover the cause of solar and lunar eclipses and was able to predict the timings of their occurrences. Aryabhatta was also able to prove that heavenly bodies like the moon are spherical and shine because of the light they reflect from the sun. He was also able to calculate the time it takes for earth to complete one revolution around the sun, he put it at 365.3586805 days a figure that is remarkably close to recent estimates. However, the most significant scientific discovery of the time was the invention of the modern system of numbers, one that set the foundations for present day science and is perhaps one of the most important inventions of all time. The invention of the zero and decimal system of counting finally gave the world a highly scalable and flexible counting system, a tool which proved invaluable in scientific advancement.

Math: Gupta mathematicians developed the concept of zero in the use of math, and also developed the decimal system based on the number 10. They also created a number writing system that was later adopted by the Islamic empire. This system became known as Arabic Numbers, but is really a Gupta achievement. This is the number writing system used throughout the world today.