Page 224 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

222  CENTR AL INDIA

7 Nalanda

Once the most prestigious centre of learning in Asia,
the Buddhist University of Nalanda, founded in the
5th century AD, had over 5,000 international students KEY
and teachers, and a library of nine million manuscripts. 1 Monastery 1A was probably
Built on a hallowed site, where the Buddha had often built by a king of Sumatra in the
stayed, Nalanda flourished until AD 1199, when it was 9th century.
looted and destroyed by the Turkish raider, Bakhtiyar 2 Temple 12, a 7th-century temple,
Khalji. The evocative ruins of its monasteries and faces the row of monasteries. The
remains of a torana stand in front
temples, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, still of this temple.
convey a vivid impression of the serene and ordered 3 Temple 13 has a brick-making
life of contemplation and learning that prevailed here. furnace to its north.
4 Monastery 8 has an imposing
shrine in its courtyard. All the
monasteries stand on terraces.

. Temple 3
Nalanda’s main temple, and its largest
structure (31 m/102 ft high), dates to the
6th century. It has a shrine chamber at
the top and small stupas at its corners.

. Votive Stupas
Located in the courtyard 0 metres 50
surrounding Temple 3, 0 yards 50
these have plaster images
of standing Bodhisattvas
and seated Buddhas.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p696

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