Nalanda: How it Changed the World
By Abhay K.
Penguin, 224 pages, Rs 699

Nalanda is much more than a site; it is the byword for a rich tradition. Today it is known as one of the world’s earliest universities, but when Emperor Ashoka founded its first vihara in the third century BCE, it might have been conceived as a mix of a Buddhist monastery and a place of learning. As it expanded and evolved over the centuries, Nalanda became an unparalleled knowledge hub, contributing greatly to the development of a number of fields ranging from philosophy and logic to linguistics, medicine and astronomy.

In the process, it produced some of the greatest scholars ever. Nagarjuna, the founder of Mahayana Buddhism who is revered as a second Buddha, was arguably the most radical philosopher in world history. Anti-foundationalist western thinkers like Heidegger and Derrida seemed to merely write footnotes to his philosophy of shunyata (emptiness) nearly two millennia after him. Arya Nagarjuna’s writings form the core of Tibetan Buddhism.

Consider Aryabhata who invented the concept of zero and revolutionized mathematics. And then there were many more names.

Today, it is difficult to imagine the ambience of Nalanda, a day in the life of this mahavihara, when it was at its peak. How did these scholars create their knowledge traditions? How did they teach their disciples – were there classes indoors? How did people from different disciplines interact? Though Nagarjuna (roughly the second century) and Aryabhata (sixth) could not have met, even if there are Tibetan traditions that assume a long lifespan for the former that might have facilitated a meeting between the two, can we imagine their students exchanging notes about shunya and shunyata in something life cafes and dhabas of the majestic buildings of Nalanda?

Abhaya K., noted poet and diplomat, in his new work brings Nalanda alive in such a way that we might be able to picture it. He looks at Nalanda from a variety of angles: its history, its prominent scholars, its decline after Bakhtiyar Khilji’s invasion in the thirteenth century, its resurrection in the last couple of decades and, most importantly, its contribution to the world in fields such as science, mathematics, philosophy, art, architecture, and poetry. Using sources from multidisciplinary perspectives, the author brings together rich material on Nalanda in one place.

The chapter on Nalanda’s contributions in various disciplines brims with the kind of intellectual excitement that must have once animated the environs of that Mahavihara.

In his introduction giving an overview of why Nalanda matters to us, the scholar also lets the poet speak. For example, the recent revival of Nalanda inspires him to pen these lines:

Forlorn under the red earth
buried for centuries
I rise today like a phoenix,
seven hundred years later
from the ashes of my burnt books.

I open my arms today to embrace you
whoever you are, from wherever you are
come, walk into my enlighten fold
as once Buddha and Mahavira did
seeking shelter in my groves.

He also happens to have a personal connection with the place – he was born and raised in what is today Nalanda district of Bihar. Recalling his school days there, he writes, “I used to climb Griddhakuta Parvat in Rajgir to get a panoramic view of the hills and forests surrounding [the Nalanda Mahavihara] but was unaware of its great significance for Buddhists the world over. Since the time I first read the powerful Heart Sutra, I often recite its first and last lines. …” The book, thus, also carries the mark of a personal rediscovery.

[Top image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_No.-_3,_Nalanda_Archaeological_Site.jpg]