Reason for Invasion by Bakhtiyar Khilji on Nalanda
The exact reasons for Bakhtiyar Khilji’s invasion of Nalanda University are not entirely clear, but historical accounts suggest that it might have been part of a larger campaign to suppress Buddhist institutions in the region. Some theories propose that Khilji’s forces attacked Nalanda due to a combination of factors, including religious intolerance, the wealth of the university, and possibly strategic considerations. The sack of Nalanda led to the decline of this renowned center of learning in ancient India.
- It also had been said that Bakhtiyar Khilji was sick and moved to every medical practitioner to improve his health condition but nobody was able to suggest any medicine that could able to recover his health condition. Some people proposed to him that he can take the help of Rahul Sri Bhadra who was the principal of Nalanda University at that time.
- Rahul Sri Bhadra successfully treated him. Khilji felt very insecure and decided to eradicate all the knowledge of Ayurveda because he was troubled by the idea that an Indian scholar knew more than his hakims. This was only the reason for attacking the Nalanda by Bakhtiyar Khilji.
- In his work Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Minhaj-i-Siraj described how thousands of monks were murdered as Khilji made every effort to eradicate Buddhism and establish Islam.
Destruction Caused by Bakhtiyar Khilji in Nalanda
As the only intention of Bakhtiyar Khilji was to destroy the source of knowledge, he first attacked the library of Nalanda. He put fire in the libraries that contained around 90 lakhs of books at that time. Some books were original in writing. Historians believe that it took three months to completely burn down all the books. Bakhtiyar Khilji not only destroyed the library but also, killed all the monks and scholars residing in the university as he didn’t want that knowledge to flow from scholars to scholars. As this destruction was so fatal, no other emperor was able to rebuild it. Hence the flow of knowledge of Nalanda came to an end.
History of Nalanda University with Interesting Facts
Nalanda University was one of the world’s first educational institutions. It was established in Rajagriha (now Rajgir) in Bihar in the 5th century BC by Kumararagupta of the Gupta Dynasty. It flourished under the Gupta king- Kumaragupta, Harsha- the emperor of Kannauj, and later under the Pala empire. Nalanda was not only a residential university but also a Buddhist monastery. The details of the university can be found in the writings of the famous Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang. According to him, there were 10,000 monks and 2000 teachers at Nalanda at that time. The famous mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata was the head of this university. Some prominent students were Harshavardhana, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, etc. Nalanda has 800 years of tradition as a university.
Table of Content
- Who Destroyed Nalanda University?
- Reason for Invasion by Bakhtiyar Khilji on Nalanda
- History of Nalanda University
- Structure of Nalanda University
- Questions And Answers on Nalanda University