Thread by @VandanaJayrajan

#UniversitiesOfAncientIndia

In ancient times India was a centre of higher learning as it is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Most people do not really know the contribution of ancient India and believe that all inventions were made by the western world.

India’s contributions date back to thousands of years, to 3500 BCE. It is believed that the Vedic science was even more advanced than present day’s scientific inventions. Indians had immense knowledge in the field of Mathematics, Astrology, Astronomy...

Education has always been given great prominence in Indian society since the times of vedic civilization, with gurukul and ashrams being the centers of learning. Most ancient Gurukul known in the history of India was Dronacharya’s gurukul (5200 years old).

Historically, Universities, libraries were a big part of the Indus Valley Civilization. The 2 famous ancient universities of India and the oldest universities in the world are Takshashila and Nalanda. But apart from these two, there were many more universities which were famous.

Takshashila University:

Takshashila University, established around 2700 years ago was home to over 10500 students, where the students from all across the world used to come to attain specialization in over 64 different fields..

Like Vedas, Grammar, Philosophy, Ayurveda, Agriculture, Surgery, Politics, Archery, Warfare, Astronomy, Commerce, Futurology, Music, Dance, etc.
Takshashila is also described in some detail in the Buddhist Jātaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the 5th century.

In this text, Takshashila has been mentioned as the capital of the kingdom of Gandhara and a great learning center. Chinese travellers like Fa Hian and Huien Tsang also speak of Takshashila in their writings.

Famous Graduates of this University include Chanakya, Panini, Charaka, Vishnu Sharma, Jivaka etc. Chanakya was an ancient Indian teacher traditionally identified as Kautilya and Charaka was the Indian father of medicine, Ayurveda system of medicine in Ancient India.

Nalanda University:

Nalanda University was established by Shakraditya of Gupta dynasty in modern Bihar during early 5th century and flourished for 600 years till 12th century.

Nalanda was the world’s first university to have residential quarters for both students and teachers. It also had large public lecture halls. Students from countries like Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey came to study in this University.

Nalanda University was set on fire by Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.
The great library of Nalanda University was destroyed, ransacked and burnt by the soldiers of Khilji’s army and it's said that it was so vast that manuscripts kept burning for three months.

In-numerous number of Ancient Indian manuscripts, carefully preserved for thousands of years were destroyed in this fire. Thousands of monks in the University were burnt alive and beheaded by Khilji’s army.

In 2010, the parliament of India passed a bill approving the plans to restore the ancient Nalanda University as a modern Nalanda International University dedicated for post-graduate research.

Pushpagiri University:

Pushpagiri University was established in ancient Kalinga kingdom (modern day Odisha) and was spread across Cuttack and Jajpur districts. It was established in 3rd century and flourished for the next 800 years till 11th century.

The university campus was spread across three adjoining hills – Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri. This was one of the most prominent centers of higher education in ancient India along with the universities of Takshashila, Nalanda and Vikramashila.

The Chinese traveler Huien Tsang visited this university in 639 CE. Lalitgiri is said to have been commissioned by early 2nd century BCE. Recently few images of Emperor Ashoka have been discovered here. It has been suggested that the University was established by Ashoka himself.

Valabhi University:

Valabhi University was established in Saurashtra of modern Gujarat at around 6th century and it flourished for 600 years till 12th century. Chinese traveler Itsing visited this university during the 7th century.

He describes it as a great center of learning. Gunamati & Sthiramati, the 2 famous Buddhist scholars are said to have graduated from here. Students from all over the country came to study here because of its high quality of education.

Vikramshila University:

Vikramashila University was established by Dharmapala of Pala dynasty during late 8th century and flourished for 400 years till 12th century. It was located in the Bhagalpur district of modern day Bihar.

It gave direct competition to Nalanda University with over 100 teachers and over 1000 students listed in this University. This university was well known for its specialized training on the subject of Tantra (Tantrism).

Odantapuri University:

Odantapuri University was established by Dharmapala of Pala dynasty during late 8th century in Magadha (which is in modern day Bihar) and flourished for 400 years till 12th century.

The famous Acharya Sri Ganga who was a professor at the Vikramashila University was a graduate of Odantapuri University.
According to the ancient Tibetan records there were about 12,000 students studying at this University.

Ancient Tibetan texts mention this as one among the five great Universities of its time, the other four being Vikramashila, Nalanda, Somapura and Jagaddala Universities – all located in ancient India.

Somapura University:

Somapura Mahavihara was established by Dharmapala of Pala dynasty during late 8th century in Bengal and flourished for 400 years till 12th century. It spread over 27 acres of land of which the main complex was 21 acres was one of the largest of its kind.

It was a major center of learning for Bauddha Dharma (Buddhism), Jina Dharma (Jainism) and Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism). Even today one can find ornamental terracotta on its outer walls depicting the influence of these three traditions.

Telhara University:

Ruins of Telhara University were found in January 2014 during excavation of a 45-foot high mound. Based on findings, archaeologists placed the Telhara University back to first century AD to Kushan Empire.

It is said the University was built by one of the descendents of Magadha ruler Bimbisara. During the excavation, the team members stumbled upon a 1.5-foot-thick layer of ash, suggesting that Telhara University was also burnt by Khilji on his way.

Jagaddala University:

The Jaggadala Vihara in Varendrabhumi (now Bangladesh) was also an important centre of learning in the early 11th century. It was established by the king Kampala, who ruled from 1084 to 1130 A.D.

Mithila University:

Records hardly mention about Mithila University. This learning centre had been in existence since the time of Raja Janak. The reason is lack of archaeological finds dating back to the ancient period. It was prominent seat of Brahmanical system of education.

There were also many other ancient Indian universities. Dharmapala of Pala dynasty alone is said to have established 50 mega learning centers across his kingdom and they have been as huge and popular as the ones in the above list.

For instance, the Munshiganj Vihara discovered as recently as March 23, 2013 in Bengal is said to have been established in 9th century and was home to 8000 students who came from faraway places like China, Tibet, Nepal and Thailand.

Many of the universities came to an end around 12th century. The universities like Nalanda, Vikramashila etc were destroyed during the period of Muslim invasion of India by Bakhtiyar Khilji from Turkey in 1193 CE.

The destruction of these centres of learning at Nalanda and other places across northern India was responsible for the demise of Ancient Indian scientific thought in Mathematics, Astronomy, Alchemy, and Anatomy.