After Nalanda, another Bihar university now set to rise from the ruins

Though the Centre had approved the project in 2015 and sanctioned Rs 500 crore, with the state government unable to identify a suitable land for the project, there had been little progress until now.

Speaking in Bhagalpur on February 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “At its peak, Vikramshila University was a centre of knowledge for the world. We have already fused ancient Nalanda university’s glory with the new Nalanda University. After Nalanda, it is the turn of Vikramshila as we are opening a Central university.”

On a weekend morning, workers at the site of the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila Mahavihar weeded out vegetation and carefully brushed off the soil to expose the underlying features. As part of the conservation and preservation process, the entire site has been divided into grids.

Rising above the ruins, glistening in the sun, is a cruciform brick stupa, 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, the last of the three great vehicles of Indian Buddhism after Hinayana and Mahayana. Tantrayana, which incorporated tantric practices and rituals, is what the scholars at Vikramshila excelled in.

Founded by Pala king Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty in the late 8th to early 9 Century AD, Vikramshila Mahavihar existed and flourished at the time of Nalanda.

“While Nalanda university flourished from the Gupta Period (320-550 AD) to the 12th Century, Vikramshila thrived during the Pala Period (8th to 12th century). While Nalanda got more international fame for teaching varied disciplines, Vikramshila was the only university that specialised in tantric and occult studies. In fact, during Dharmapala’s reign, Vikramshila reigned supreme and is known to have controlled Nalanda’s affairs as well,” said ASI Superintending Archaeologist (Patna Circle) Sujit Nayan.

While Nalanda is the older of the two universities, at one point, the two centres of learning, who had a common patron in King Dharmapala, exchanged knowledge and even teachers, who were called Acharyas.

At its peak, subjects such as theology, philosophy, grammar, metaphysics and logic were taught at Vikramshila. But the most important branch of learning were the tantras because Vikramshila flourished in the days of tantricism, when occult sciences and magic were subjects of study both in Buddhism as well as Hinduism.

The university produced several eminent scholars, among them, Atisa Dipankara, who played a key role in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet.

The institution prospered for about four centuries before fading out along with Nalanda around the 13th century — a decline that experts attribute to a combination of factors, from the rising of Hinduism and the decline of Buddhism to the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khalji.

The ruins — from the stupa to the remains of the cells and a vast library — bear witness to this rise and fall of Vikramshila.

It was in the library, the ruins of which are at the south-west of the site, that teachers and students are known to have engaged in copying and translating manuscripts.

According to ASI’s Sujit Nayan, the rectangular structure, now partially exposed, had a cooling system, as part of which water from the adjoining reservoir would be channeled into the building. “The cooling system was perhaps meant for preserving delicate manuscripts,” he said.

Nayan said they are trying to preserve and conserve the site by maintaining the original form of the excavated structure.

The initial excavation at Antichak was conducted by Patna University (1960-69), following which the ASI took over.

A museum at the site displays several antiquities found during the excavation — from a carved limestone sculpture that depicts the eight major events of Buddha’s life to sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu deities such as Avalokiteshvara, Loknath, Ganesh, Surya, Vishnu, etc.

Less than 3 km away, at Antichak village, the idea of a new university is taking shape. The Bihar government has approved `87.99 crore for land acquisition at Antichak village.

Bhagalpur District Magistrate Nawal Kishore Choudhary said” “The district administration has identified 202.14 acres, three km from the ancient Vikramshila site. Of that, 27 acres belong to the state government but are occupied by some families.”

Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary said: “Project Vikramshila has started. The land acquisition process will be completed soon. Construction and repair of NH-80 (connecting Vikramshila to Bhagalpur, 50 km away) is on. The time is not far when the new Nalanda and Vikramshila universities will collaborate — just the way they did in ancient times.”