Situated 90 km from Bihar’s capital Patna, Nalanda is the site of one of the world’s ancient and most famous Buddhist universities. It was founded in the 5th century by the Gupta emperors and flourished till the 12th century. During its heyday, it was a flourishing residential university with over 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers. Excavations have also revealed many stupas, monasteries, hostels, staircases, meditation rooms and lecture halls, bearing testimony to the grandeur and importance this place must have enjoyed once. Hieun Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, spent three years in Nalanda. He has left a detailed account about the university in his memoirs. Nalanda today is in ruins but still imparts the scholarly look.
REIGNING Ruins TRAVEL PLANNER
BEST SEASON: October to March
HOW TO GET THERE: Air: The nearest airport is at Patna (89 km); Rail: Though Rajgir (12 km) is the nearest railway station, the nearest convenient railhead is Gaya (65 km); Road: Nalanda is connected by good roads with Rajgir (12 km), Bodh Gaya (50 km), Gaya (65 km), Patna (90 km), Pawapuri (26 km) and Bihar Sharif (13 km).
PLACES OF INTEREST: Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall; Nalanda University Complex; Nalanda museum (opens 10 am–5 pm; closed on Friday); Lauria Areraj: An 11.5 m high Ashokan column was erected here in 249 BC. The site is only 30 km from Motihari; Lauria Nandangarh: 23 km from Bettiah and 14 km from Shikarpur, it has the famous lion pillar erected by Ashoka.
Source ~ Times Of India |
