Remains of a Mural
Nalanda University
9th century A.C.E.
Nalanda, Bihar, India
DESTROYED DURING A TURKISH INVASION IN 1193 A.C.E.

Long before the University of Oxford was founded in the 12th century, there existed a university in the Far East, the results of whose existence is still very evident. Though the exact dates of its foundation remains obscure, the ancient university of Nalanda is believed to date back to the times of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism in India. One can find elaborate descriptions in memoirs of a Chinese pilgrim Hsüan Tsang who spent considerable time in the university in the early 7th century. The university by that time was the most important center of learning in Asia and housed more than 10,000 students and over 2,000 scholars in the world’s first residential university.

With eight separate compounds, numerous temples and meditation halls, the courses of study included the scriptures of the Mahayana and Hinayana schools, the Hetuvidya (logic), Sabdavidya (grammar), Chikitsavidya (medicine), metaphysics as well as purely Brahmanical texts such as the Vedas including the Atharvaveda. The university, according the Hsüan Tsang, also housed a library, 9 stories high, where meticulous copies of some of the most important texts were produced.

The art of painting and sculpture formed a very important part of the Buddhist education. The monks would often meditate upon an image of Buddha and would, through the medium of painting or sculpture, imbibe the qualities of the deity. Nalanda University, along with being an institution of high repute, was also a very important center for the arts. Numerous examples of sculptures and palm leaf manuscripts produced by the monks and students still exist in various museums around the world, and are some of the finest examples of Buddhist art.

As was the practice of Buddhism, the worship halls and Viharas (or the sleeping quarters of monks) were often covered with most exquisite mural paintings. The tradition of these mural paintings can again be traced to the style of the mural paintings from the caves of Ajanta and Bagh from central India.

There is not much left of the murals today. The revival of Hinduism by the 8th and 9th century resulted in a weak hold of Buddhism on the Indian soil. The invasion of a Turkish ruler Bakhtiyar Khilji was the most severe blow to Buddhism and marked a milestone for its decline on the Indian soil. In 1193, Khilji ransacked the university, destroyed most of the campus and ended the glorious era of Buddhism in its birthplace.