Nalanda University Ruins

"“The largest center of Buddhist learning in India, Nalanda hosted some 10,000 students in its heyday, attracting students from China and Southeast Asia. Its vast library held collections of Buddhist manuscripts but also treatises on astronomy, mathematics, grammar, and medicine. Revenue collected from the monastery’s estates and neighboring villages supported the monastery, and students were provided with free room, board, and education. Nalanda flourished from the sixth through the ninth centuries. At the end of the twelfth century, the complex was sacked by the Turk Bakhtiyar Khilji. A contemporary Arabic account reports that thousands of students were burned alive or beheaded and that the library burned for days. The destruction of Nalanda dealt a major blow to Buddhism in India, which was already declining, with Hindu gods regaining popularity in areas where Buddhism had spread.” Excerpt From: India in the 21st Century, Mira Kamdar"