Ancient site · Temple
Nalanda
Also known as Nalanda Mahavihara
A great Buddhist monastery and centre of learning in Bihar, near Rajgir, founded around 427 CE under the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta I. Monks and students from across Asia studied philosophy, logic, grammar and medicine in its brick monasteries and temples, and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang spent years here in the 7th century.
Often called one of the world's first residential universities, it declined after attacks around 1200 and faded by about 1400. Its excavated ruins are a World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- c. 427 CE–c. 1400 CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 25.14° N, 85.44° E
How we know
Seals, inscriptions and accounts by Chinese pilgrims such as Xuanzang describe the monastery; coins link its founding to Kumaragupta I.
Nearby sites
- Pataliputra (Kumhrar) c. 600 BCE–600 CE
- Lauriya Nandangarh pillar c. 243–236 BCE (dating of Ashoka's reign varies)
- Sarnath c. 250 BCE–1194 CE
- Lumbini pillar of Ashoka c. 249–242 BCE (Ashoka's 20th regnal year)
- Bharhut railings c. 125–100 BCE (some argue 1st century CE); later abandoned
- Hathigumpha inscription, Udayagiri c. 1st century BCE (from the style of its letters)