How sad indeed. We thought late Alamgir marg in Delhi was bad enough. But here is Bhaktiyarpur named after the guy who burnt 7 storey library building and all its books at Nalanda University along with destruction of university and massacred students and professors. That too at railway station near Nalanda University.
Sure like what we are hearing to day from 'coolie and slave minded Indians' as termed by Sri Amit Bhaduri , protesting against change of name of street in Delhi from Aurangazeb to Abdul Kalam, saying it is against secularism, and Aurangazeb gave grants to some temples , and he destroyed only those temples that opposed him, we may hear similar ingenious apologia if we seek to discard name Bhaktiyarpur to say to anyone of the professors there like, Harshavardhana, Vasubandhu, Dharmapal, Suvishnu, Asanga, Dharmakirti, Shantarakhsita, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Padmasambhava, who taught at Nalanda in late 12 th century CE. Harshavardhana Pura or Nagarjuna Nagar would be more appropriate than having name of villain adorning the railway station.
Please see some interesting information from the net about the events 800 years back involving burning of magnificent library and destruction of a world class university at Nalanda, Bihar. Hope the offending name of the town and railway station gets changed dropping Bhaktiyar Khilji's . Likes of him do not deserve to be on railway station boards constantly reminding passengers and rest of Indians the evil they have perpetrated . Thus regardless of what the usual suspects may say like that the Khilji was an avid reader of books or he gave money to publish some books like Aurangazeb gave grants to some temples, hence it is ok to have their names on streets or railway stations , they should go. Shariat has provisions for so called blood money which is money paid to survivors of killed victims for Islamic fanatics to get absolved. Whether it was Bhaktiyar Khilji or Aurangazeb both of whom are strict orthodox Islamists, if they have done some things good, still their enormous crimes against humanity will not permit to have them put on name plates of a street or station. They should only be remembered in history pages for he demonic deeds they did against people of India, against education and learning.
Please see some relevant information in this regard sent along with this E mail.
Best wishes, G V Chelvapilla
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What are the facts or mindblowing facts of Nalanda University?
I am talking Nalanda University of Ancient Period. Like i have heard libraries had been found to be burning after 3 months of it has burned...
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5 Answers
- Nalanda University was an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India and is the second oldest university. (after Takshila).
- It was a religious center of learning from the fifth century CE to 1197 CE
- It occupied an area of 14 hectares
- The university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia.
- Nalanda was ransacked and destroyed by an army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.Bakhtiyar khilji Destroyed the university thinking that it as Fort of the empire.
- 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
More Answers Below.
Related Questions- Who should apologise for the burning of Nalanda University?
- What happened to old Nalanda university of India?
- Will Nalanda University be able to match its glorious past in the future?
- What could have been the position of India had Nalanda University not been destroyed?
- How would Indian civilization have been different today if Nalanda University hadn't been destroyed?
For over 800 years NU was one of the best universities in the world. Students from across the globe came here to study in one of the greatest libraries in the world. Before it was destroyed scholars and teachers from places as far as Korea, Japan, Persia, Tibet, China, Greece, and Greater Iran were part of the University. The notable scholars who studied in NU included Harshavardhana, Vasubandhu, Dharmapal, Suvishnu, Asanga, Dharmakirti, Shantarakhsita, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Padmasambhava, Xuanzang and Hwui Li.
According to the records Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but rebuilt only twice. The first destruction was caused by the Huns under Mihirakula during the reign of Skandagupta (455–467 AD). But Skanda’s successors restored the library and improved it with an even bigger building.
The second destruction came in the early 7th century by the Gaudas. This time, the Buddhist king Harshavardhana (606–648 AD) restored the university.
The third and most destructive attack came when the ancient Nalanda University was destroyed by the Muslim army led by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. It is believed that Buddhism as a major religion in India had a setback for hundreds of years due to the loss of the religious texts during the attack. And, since then, the NU has not been restored until the recent developments.
It is said that Bakhtiyar Khilji had fallen sick and doctors in his court failed to cure him. Then, someone advised him to get himself cured by Rahul Sri Bhadra, the principal of Nalanda University.
Khilji was too proud of his Islamic culture and refused to get himself treated by a person outside his religion. But his health worsened and he was left with no other option but to invite Bhadra from Nalanda.
But Khilji put a condition and asked Bhadra to cure him without any medicines. Bhadra then asked Khilji to read some pages from the Koran as a remedy to his illness and to everyone’s surprise Khilji was cured.
Disturbed by the fact that an Indian scholar and teacher knew more than the doctors of his court, Khilji decided to destroy the roots of knowledge, Buddhism and Ayurveda, from the country. He set fire to the great library of Nalanda and burned down nearly 9 million manuscripts.
The library was so vast and strong that it took three months to completely destroy it. The Turkish invaders also murdered monks and scholars in the university.
The university was reopened after 800 years on September 1. You can check out more information and facts here- The Ancient Indian University Which Is Taking Students Again After 800 Years! - The Better India
According to the records Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but rebuilt only twice. The first destruction was caused by the Huns under Mihirakula during the reign of Skandagupta (455–467 AD). But Skanda’s successors restored the library and improved it with an even bigger building.
The second destruction came in the early 7th century by the Gaudas. This time, the Buddhist king Harshavardhana (606–648 AD) restored the university.
The third and most destructive attack came when the ancient Nalanda University was destroyed by the Muslim army led by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. It is believed that Buddhism as a major religion in India had a setback for hundreds of years due to the loss of the religious texts during the attack. And, since then, the NU has not been restored until the recent developments.
It is said that Bakhtiyar Khilji had fallen sick and doctors in his court failed to cure him. Then, someone advised him to get himself cured by Rahul Sri Bhadra, the principal of Nalanda University.
Khilji was too proud of his Islamic culture and refused to get himself treated by a person outside his religion. But his health worsened and he was left with no other option but to invite Bhadra from Nalanda.
But Khilji put a condition and asked Bhadra to cure him without any medicines. Bhadra then asked Khilji to read some pages from the Koran as a remedy to his illness and to everyone’s surprise Khilji was cured.
Disturbed by the fact that an Indian scholar and teacher knew more than the doctors of his court, Khilji decided to destroy the roots of knowledge, Buddhism and Ayurveda, from the country. He set fire to the great library of Nalanda and burned down nearly 9 million manuscripts.
The library was so vast and strong that it took three months to completely destroy it. The Turkish invaders also murdered monks and scholars in the university.
The university was reopened after 800 years on September 1. You can check out more information and facts here- The Ancient Indian University Which Is Taking Students Again After 800 Years! - The Better India
3.2k Views
The longest running university of India was the Nalanda University in Nalanda, Bihar. It was built in the 6th century B.C. by Narsimha Deva and was active up till the 13th century. Thus, the University ran without any hindrance for 700 years. It was a world wide acclaimed university of that time and students from far off countries used to come and gain knowledge here.The admission was secured on the basis of a very tough entrance exam. Knowledge was imparted on virtually all subjects including science, philosophy, medicine, warfare etc. Its fame ran not only in India but also in south-east and central Asia. Its Mathematical as well as the Astronomical department was quite renowned.In fact Nalanda was the first university in the world to have given Astronomy a separate status from Mathematics. When Hsuen Tsang visited Nalanda he was astonished to see the collection of books in the library. The books contained in the library belonged to a wide range of topics, which he had never seen before in his life.Hsuen Tsang also refers to his interaction with the gatekeeper of the library. Who he says knew far lot more than him in almost all the subjects including Medicine and Astronomy. Unfortunately many of the works of Hsuan Tsang got lost in Brahmaputra river during his return journey to China, as such our knowledge about Nalanda and its students are very limited.In 1200 A.D. Islamic zealots led by Bhaktiyar Khilji destroyed the Nalanda university completely. It is said that the library containing invaluable books, kept on burning for nearly six months. With the library all the knowledge mankind had gained in years went into the flame.What Newton discovered many centuries later (Gravity) had already been discovered by the students and teachers of Nalanda university. The books were thrown into the flames by persons who thought that there is no truth other than that written in Quran. And thus pushed the India into the dark age through which she is still groping to pass through.
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In Bihar all the educational institutions are facing the same fate by the current politicians who have reduced them to a vitual cauldron of corruption thereby indirectly destroying them in the similar manner as Nalanda University.That is why the talented students are moving outside Bihar.