Nalanda

Nalanda is the ancient university and the prime Buddhist monastic center of Bihar. Nalanda sees its traditional history from the time of Buddha and Mahavira. The place has been the center of education and knowledge since ages. Unearthing by the Archaeological Survey of India depicts that the foundation of the monasteries belongs to the Gupta period (5th century CE). The place saw numerous contributions from the succeeding rulers since then.

Nalanda holds the essence of spirituality, history, culture, architecture, tourism, and knowledge all at a single place. It is famed for housing one of the world’s oldest and finest boarding universities, which is looked upon as an architectural masterpiece. There has not been left much of the past and the building is majorly in ruins, but still, the entire premises is worth paying a visit. The place is nearly always flocked by the tourists interested in knowing the history and culture of the state. The mighty complex holds “viharas” or monasteries to the east and “chaiyas” or temples to the west, to add to this is a little museum, that houses several original Buddhist stupas, Hindu and Buddhist bronzes, coins, terracotta jars, a sample of burnt rice, etc. The ruins are now listed in the UNESCO World Heritage site. The city advocated many religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and Sufism.