“A shop in some place has books!
The shop is open tis never locked!
The owner says a reader doesn’t rob
A Robber doesn’t read so don’t be shocked!”
Some of the most competitive examinations in the world (or even universe!) can be said to be conducted in India like the IIT or the Medical entrance examination!
Getting into institutions like these are a matter of great pride simply because the entrance is so tough!
But (he he!) did you know that there was another university in India which was the world’s first Residential university where the entrance was more tough that any at a time when people in other places were trying to simply learn basic words!?
read on!
I have never attempted or written an engineering examination since I had the resolve only to be a doctor and nothing else! There was no ‘take what you get’ attitude!
But I know that some of the engineering examinations at least at that time was so tough! The amount of preparation required is so much!
Even examinations like the UPSC are big mountains to climb!
Now this particular University of the ancient times has such high levels of rejection rates! So much so that apparently even the gate keeper at the entrance would be so wise that if you fail to ‘pass’ his test or questions even there itself you would be sent out!
The university used to get applications from all over the world but only very few were even considered!
The training was intense and there was no distractions! You get up, you read, you discuss, you debate, you refer from the huge library and sleep a little and repeat!
Of course when it comes from an ‘angrezi’ author it has more credibility! It is unfortunate that when we were departing education to the whole world even when people had trouble grasping simple things and now the so called ‘civilized’ nations try to teach us!
In the novel ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World’ by William Dalrymple, the author’s description of the greatest University of that time gives you goosebumps!
The university had a library almost as big as the Alexandria and was about nine stories high!
Of course those Illiterates who do not know the value of knowledge or education burnt and destroyed this treasure!
The famous libraries were called Ratnasagar, Ratnadadhi and Ratnaranjak. All these libraries were located in a complex called ‘Dharmaganj’.
And yes! The famous university was Nalanda!
Incidentally I did my LKG in a school called Nalanda but I am sure that it was not the same!
So Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist mahavihara (great monastery) in ancient and medieval Magadha (modern-day Bihar).
Operating from 427 CE until around 1400 CE, Nalanda played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the “Golden Age of India” by scholars!
Nalanda was established by emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire around 427 CE, and was supported by numerous Indian and Javanese patrons – both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
Nalanda continued to thrive with the support of the rulers of the Pala Empire (r. 750–1161 CE). After the fall of the Palas, the monks of Nalanda were patronised by the Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya.
Nalanda University was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji which he had proudly reclaimed in his court records. Bakhtiyar khilji was a Turkish Afghan general of Muhammad Ghori.
Over some 750 years, Nalanda’s faculty included some of the most revered scholars of Mahayana Buddhism.
The faculty and students associated with the monastery included Dharmapala, Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti, Xuanzang, Śīlabhadra and Vajrabodhi.
The curriculum of Nalanda included major Buddhist philosophies like Madhyamaka, Yogachara and Sarvastivada, as well as other subjects like the Vedas, grammar, medicine, logic, mathematics, astronomy and alchemy.
The mahavihara had a renowned library that was a key source for the Sanskrit texts that were transmitted to East Asia by pilgrims like Xuanzang and Yijing.
Many texts composed at Nalanda played an important role in the development of Mahayana and Vajrayana. They include the works of Dharmakirti, the Sanskrit text Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra of Shantideva, and the Mahavairocana Tantra!
In the novel William describes the arduous journey of a monk from China who started on a journey of close to six years from China to Nalanda across deserts, rivers and all sorts of trials and troubles to reach this great place of education and was received with lots of adulation and open arms! An honour given to very few!
Education is thus what we have always given importance to and that is how it will be! So is the importance to art and literature. Only a humane human can actually appreciate art and music and creativity! One such amazing artist is Pulapaka Suseela! Listen to her songs and think of our glorious past and future!
Shubh Ratri!
ramadocblog 