How the world's oldest university was lost for 800 years | BBC News India

Founded more than 1,500 years ago, India's ancient Nalanda University is thought to have been the world's first residential university.
Established more than 500 years before Oxford University, at its peak Nalanda hosted over 10,000 students from around the globe. It is considered by historians to be one of the great centres of learning of the ancient world.
The university was destroyed towards the end of the 12th Century AD. Its legendary library burned to the ground and much of its ancient knowledge was lost.
Now, 800 years later, the university is being revived for the modern age.
Video by Mithun Pramanik
Commissioned by Dan John
This video was first published by BBC Reel on 10-Jun-2022.
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[@AnshJindal]

The amount of knowledge, skills and artefacts lost is just unfathomable.

[@aek12]

Koi bat ni. Start Again.

[@flaminmongrel6955]

but we aren't really thinking innovatively we still follow a century old model of study even the british did away with that overly theoretical way of learning.

[@5gods]

Nalanda was amazing to visit. Seeing is believing . Vikramshila was great as well. Worthwhile destinations

[@ashismishra9411]

Bakhtiyar khilji was no less dn a demon.This ideology justifies less education & more terrorism in muslims.. Nywz, Truth can never get destroyed!

[@jaswantsingh9287]

Muslims have have hatred for knowledge and love Arabian fables and fairy tales.

[@kunalk1234]

Even Modi justifies low education. Modi takes pride in being uneducated.

[@AyushGuptaAyushgupta]

​@@kunalk1234what about isi isisk Taliban laskar e taiba Al Quida Indian Mujahideen aimim PFI hazibulla isis

[@novicepilotaviator5868]

Thanks to the Chinese Pilgrim, Xuanzang and Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham for documenting and excavating this most treasured historical ancient monastery/university, respectively. Had it not been for Tripitaka Master Xuanzang's influential book 'The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions', which Sir Alexander Cunningham read and used to discover and unearth Nalanda monastery/university, this place would have been lost to the world, and the present-day people in India wouldn't have known any better.

[@sabihatanveer8494]

Had visited it 27 yrs back ❤👍🏻

[@takiszorba]

A Big Thank you to the Creative Team at BBC NI for this video. The contents are so inspiring and spiritually satisfying I am elated to know. A "must visit" place while in India. I have added Nalanda University to my travel itinerary "101 Sacred Places Of Ancient India To Visit Today". Keep up the good work BBCNI. Namaste and Best Wishes from Athens, Greece. 🙏🌻

[@imrank340]

Nalanda University an epitmy of TIME whose reference goes back to the time even before 329BC the time of Alexzandra Macedonia invaded India, Most prolific student of Nalanda Uni was Vishnu Gupta who later on become lecturer strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra in Tuxshila Uni currently located in Pakistan, Rawalpindi; the chief architect of ejecting Alexazandra's forces from the India and ultimately to his death. A Chinese traveler Xuanzang detailed in his travel log Nalanda's a rich heritage and world-class standard education system which span into the vast complex, most profound impact in his Chronicles until 1200 AD a Terrorist known Khilji who destroyed the Nalanda Complex and raised to the ground, loss of very unique and invaluable Library it is been recorded almost 40 days continues to burn the Fire to consume the library and many of the teacher put to the sword due to their uncompromising stance as Buddhist monks. As such travesty and knowledge withered away in the midst of TIME, lost until 1800AD British made an effort to re-excavate the region, But then again artifact found during the excavation was quitely stolen by its high officials of British civil service personnel, and those officially recorded was exported to British Library in London and few private holders who direct responsible for the dig. During the excavation, a clay pot found as a Time capsule at the Time of King Ashoka, who was buried; Silver, Gold, Copper, leafs have completely vanished from the site to later on to be found in Yorkshire based a private collector.

[@subhashyadav-mx6ej]

Highly enlightening one.More such programms are requested from BBC

[@flaminmongrel6955]

Nalanda and Takshila are both spectacular but unfortunately the latter is in a way worse condition

[@HimanshuKumar-vz7fk]

Anpadh kya jane kitabo ki value unhe to bas aasmani kitab se matlab hai. Hamare gyan or hamare itihas ko na kabhi khatm kar paye na kar payege

[@kunalk1234]

मोदी खुद अनपढ़ है. उसको University की spelling नहीं पता. सिर्फ students union की politics पता है उस जाहिल को

[@tivo3720]

Nalanda University was a centre of Hindu - Buddhist - jains. Vedas and Upanishads were also stored and taught in that university. Yoga, ayurveda was also taught. Hindu Buddhist Jain both used to teach and learn here.

[@mdmeraj9795]

Thanks BBC NEWS for this kind of video

[@beautifulworld-b9q]

Thanks BBC News India 🙏

[@amansinghcrn-2789]

Who destroyed it btw

[@SenorSol]

The religion of 'peace', but who preserved it and began all of the archeological surveys and excavations.......The British!

[@dhananjay3512]

An mf named bakhtiyar khilji who plundered nalanda and killed monks and teachers and burned the whole library 😑

[@kunalk1234]

Modi is destroying modern Indian universities

[@anantsky]

​@@SenorSolThe British destroyed Gurukul system and Sanskrit.

[@SenorSol]

@@anantsky Hardly, then why is Sanskrit still in existence and people still study it? Post proof and evidence to back up your claim.

[@KeepCalmandLoveClassics]

Epitome of Excellence 🙏

[@DharmaRakshak]

Yes we need to bring this back to life and practice use, starting with learning who created who distorted it and what ideology was the cause of the this loss! How to make sure such unfortunate events don’t happen again! While it most recently was repeated in France by burning the oldest library!

[@gyadre]

The inscription @5.02 is a Tibetan script.

[@babahanuman83]

founded around 500ce. oldest?!?

[@VongOudam]

Om Buddha ❤🙏❤🙏❤🙏

[@bg8187]

Namo buddha. Buddhism remained popular in Indian Sub continent region for more than 1000 years. It spread across the world. Buddhist built more than 70 universities. Buddhist discovered about consciousness, meditation, Yoga, Ayurveda, Astrology and so on. Later Adi Shankaracharya from 8th century copied Nagarjuna's Mahayana Buddhism philosophy. And popularised Shiva and Geeta. After Mughal reign ended brahmins began to capture Buddhist temple and conversion of buddhist temple to hindu started. Till date Casteism and superstition is rooted in Indian Society.

[@tivo3720]

LoL. Like how Buddhist converted the ankorwat temple? It's the hindus today who re-establish the Nalanda today.

[@enhaa784]

😢

[@fenimorefillmore5322]

Thanks to islam and its ideology for brining such a magnificent university to ground islam wil always hold back yhe development of india

[@vongchantha-i7i]

❤

[@immortine]

You are only showing Buddhist Universities in India. Is there any hindu or sanatan universities in India?

[@p..1695]

Taxashila

[@immortine]

@@p..1695 You have heard this from someone or can you give me a reference where you have found this written?

[@ahalyabs]

There was Gurukul in India.

[@ahalyabs]

Stress was more on memories than books. It turned out to be better idea for preservation.

[@ahalyabs]

Takshashila was at the crossroads of many countries. Where knowledge was interchanged.

[@lhibaking]

The three oldest universities in the world are, in order: Al-Zaytouna University in Tunisia, Kairouan University in Morocco, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, and they are still scientific edifices in various fields, especially Al-Azhar University.

[@user-97n0xg.d6gfh]

What about Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia? *Quran 7:166* “But when they persisted in violation, We said to them, “Become disgraced APES!’” *Quran 5:60* "Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ 'Shall I inform you of those who deserve a worse punishment from Allah? Those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He became angry - and made them APES, PIGS, slaves of Taghut.'"

[@user-97n0xg.d6gfh]

*Quran 31:29* “Do you not see that Allah causes the night to merge into the day and the day into the night, and has subjected the sun and the moon, _each_ ORBITING for an appointed term, and that Allah is All-Aware of what you do?” *Qur’an **36:38* “The _sun_ TRAVELS for its fixed term. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.” *Quran 13:3* “It is He who spread the Earth…” *Quran 15:19* “The Earth, we have spread it…” *Quran 20:53* “Who has made for you the Earth as a bed...” *Quran 43:10* “made the earth as a bed . . .” *Quran 50:7* “The Earth, we spread it out . . .” *Quran 51:48* “And we have spread out the Earth...” *Quran 78:6* “Have we not made the Earth a bed?” *Quran 79:30* “After that, He Spread the Earth.”

[@ahalyabs]

A bed to sleep 💤

[@tharesh.7802]

Ae

[@dhananjay3512]

Bakhtiyar khilji kmkb 🙂

[@jojojaja3019]

Now you can see how islam and its dogs are denger to the world

[@SenorSol]

Thank you Britain for surveying it in the 19th Century and being responsible for the archeological excavations and restoration!

[@AyushGuptaAyushgupta]

Lol 😂they didn't nothing

[@SenorSol]

@@AyushGuptaAyushgupta You mean apart from bringing modernity to India?

[@cruise_control]

It is a Buddhist center. Not an university.

[@Aditya1590]

Its a Buddhist centre for study..it had total 9 million of books in its library..it burnt for 3 months after catching fire

[@Haramikalala]

Chinese traveller xuan zuang wrote a book a journey to the west mentions this place as a university which teaches maths , medicine , astro physics , literature , art etc . There were entrance exams too before entering the university premises .