Vikramshila University

Prelims – History of India.

Mains – GS I | Indian Heritage and Culture.

Why in News?

A decade after the revival of Nalanda University in Rajgir, the process of reviving another ancient centre of learning ' Vikramashila University' in Bihar has gained momentum.

• Location - Situated in Bhagalpur, Bihar, along the banks of the river Ganges.
• Founded by - King Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty in the late 8^th to early 9^th Century AD.
• It simultaneously existed and flourished during Nalanda's time.
• Architecture - Cruciform brick stupa is the centrepiece of the Vikramshila site.
• All around the stupa are the cells, 208 of them, 52 on each side where student-monks of one of the most splendid universities of its times practised Tantrayana.

Tantrayana is the last of the 3 great vehicles of Indian Buddhism after Hinayana and Mahayana.

• It included a library equipped with a unique cooling system, channeling water from a nearby reservoir to preserve delicate manuscripts.
• Education - Vikramshila was the only university that specialised in tantric and occult studies.
• At its peak, subjects such as theology, philosophy, grammar, metaphysics and logic were taught at Vikramshila.
• The university produced several eminent scholars, among them, Atisa Dipankara, who played a key role in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet.
• Vikramashila attracted numerous teachers and students, it is said that during the time of King Ramapala there were 160 teachers and 1,000 students.
• Students flocked to the university from all over north India as well as Kashmir, Java, Nepal and Tibet.
• Nalanda is the older of the two universities; at one point, the two centres of learning, which had a typical patron in King Dharmapala, exchanged knowledge and even teachers, who were called Acharyas.
• Downfall - It was destroyed by Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji's forces Around 1203 AD.
• Revival - Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has, since December last year, been developing the site of the ancient Vikramshila university to attract more tourists.

Reference

The Indian Express | Vikramshila university