The two ancient Buddhist universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila in India are presently undergoing a renaissance. The new Nalanda University, in Rajgir in Bihar State, began offering courses on 1 September, while the government of India is currently in the process of reviving Vikramashila, in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district. According to a report on the Indian website Outlook, Bihar’s chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi disclosed the initiative for Vikramashila to reporters in Bhagalpur while reviewing development schemes in the region. “We will reinstate the Vikramashila University to its lost glory. It will be on the lines of Nalanda University,” he stated.
Ruins of Vikramashila University. From Alokprasad/wikipedia
According to The Times of India, King Dharmapala (r. 770–810) of the Pala dynasty (750–1174) established the university in the late 8th or early 9th century with the intention of enhancing Buddhist scholasticism. The university not only became a center for Buddhist learning, but also taught occult sciences, metaphysics, logic, grammar, and philosophy. The famous Buddhist teacher Atisha Dipankara Srijnana (980–1054) was an abbot there, and the university produced other eminent Buddhist teachers who were invited to teach Buddhism in other countries.
Kumar Rajesh of The Times of India further reports that Mr. Manjhi announced that Vikramashila’s development in tandem with the proposed integrated development of the region will promote tourism and ultimately generate employment opportunities, bringing socio-economic changes to the local community through diversified plans and policies. As reported on Outlook, the chief minister also stated that a committee of experts would be set up to oversee Vikramashila’s revival.
Wall carving at Vikramashila University. From Sourav Sen Tonandad/wikipedia
Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, a leader in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and a former cabinet minister, also plans to promote the reinstatement of the ancient university. Hussain mentioned on 16 September on his personal website that he has formulated a grand plan for Vikramashila along the lines of international universities such as Harvard and Oxford. He hopes the university will attract students from all over the world as it once did in ancient India.
For four centuries, Vikramashila prospered along with the other Buddhist centers of learning at Nalanda and Taxila until 1200, when Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turkic military general of Qutb-ud-din Aibak, destroyed it during his conquest of Bengal, ushering Muslim rule into the region. Now, only the university ruins exist, visited by tourists and Buddhist pilgrims from around the world.
Ruins of Vikramashila University. From Sourav Sen Tonandad/wikipedia
According to Syed Shahnawaz Hussain’s personal website, although Patna University and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted excavations on the site from 1960–69 and from 1972–82, the ruins suffered neglect for many years, causing extensive damage to the existing monuments. Excavation work uncovered facilities for more than 100 resident teachers and 1,000 students from India and elsewhere.
In September 2009, Mr. Hussain met the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, urging the need for conservation of the university. Following this appeal, the director general of the ASI made an inspection and ordered immediate conservation efforts to be undertaken. Since then, the ASI has been excavating and beautifying the ancient site for conservation and to attract more tourists.