The world's oldest university in India

The world's oldest recognized university in India

The University at Nalanda name as Takshashila functioned from 500 to 1300 AD until destroyed by invaders?

top view:- how is the university today

During the 800 years that the university was operational, it attained great fame. Its campus was one mile in length and a half-mile in width. It also had 300 lecture halls with stone benches for sitting, laboratories and other facilities were also available.

For example, the university had a

·         Towering observatory called the Ambudharaavlehi for astronomical research.

·         It has boasted a massive library called Dharma Gunj or Mountain of Knowledge that was set up in three buildings named Ratna Sagar, Ratnodavi and Ratnayanjak.

·         The entrance examination was very difficult and the pass rate was 3 out of every 10 students. Despite this hurdle, the Chinese traveler, Hien Tsang wrote in his diary that 10,000 students and 200 professors were at Nalanda University.

Taksha (the shortened moniker for TakshaShila) University was named after "Taksha’s Cut-Rock (or "Stele") City" in ancient northern India, the site of the ancient world's supposed first international university. It is described as the wealthiest city in India. The designation "Taksha" symbolizes the abiding ideals of solid and deep-rooted respect for teachers, unfettered freedom of thought, learning of different streams of knowledge, excellence in education, and extraordinary discipline that prevailed at the ancient University.

study area

Way to library

Takshashila, flourished from 600 BC to 500 AD, in the kingdom of Gandhar. 68 subjects were taught at this university and the minimum entry age, ancient texts show, was 16. At one stage, it had 10,500 students including those from Babylon, Greece, Syria, and China.

Experienced masters taught the vedas, languages, grammar, philosophy, medicine, surgery, archery, politics, warfare, astronomy, accounts, commerce, documentation, music, dance and other performing arts, futurology, the occult and mystical sciences,complex mathematical calculations. The panel of masters at the university included legendary scholars like Kautilya, Panini, Jivak and Vishnu Sharma. Thus, the concept of a full-fledged university was developed in India.

Some of the students who graduated out of the Takshashila university included the great political master Chanakya (also called Kautilya/Vishnugupta who not only authored the world’s finest work till today on political duties, statecraft, economic policies, state intelligence systems, administrative skills and military strategy, called the Artha Shastra which consists of 15 books, but who also guided Chandragupta Maurya as a mentor who founded the Great Mauryan Empire, and also served as the prime minister of the Mauryan Empire!)

Reference

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