प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

114 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. number of works on sacred law (Dharmaśāstra), grammar, poetics, logic and philosophy were composed by Benares scholars in medieval times. If put together, they would be equal to the work done by any other five centres of learning in India. This would give some idea of the literary and educational pre- eminence of Benares during the medieval period. NĀLANDĀ. Early History : Nālandā, about 40 miles south of Patna, was a famous Buddhist place since early times, as it was the place of the birth and death of Sāriputta, the right hand disciple of the Buddha. Asoka is said to have built a temple there. But its rise as a centre of learning has to be placed by about 450 A.D. ; for Fa Hsien, who visited the place in c. 410 A.D. does not refer to its educational importance.¹ Very soon thereafter Nālandā rapidly rose into importance owing to the patronage of a number of Gupta emperors. That the Gupta rulers, who were themselves orthodox Hindus, should have contributed a lion's share to the development, equipment and endowment of the greatest Buddhist University speaks volumes for the catholicity of the age. Śakrāditya, who was probably Kumāragupta I (414-454 A.D.), laid the foundation of the greatness of Nālandā by founding and endowing a monastery there. The splendid Buddha temple in this monastery was for centuries the central place of worship for the congregation. Tathāgatagupta, (who cannot yet be definitely identified), Narasiṁha- gupta Bālāditya, (468-472 A. D.) and Budhagupta

1. According to Tārānāth, Āryadeva, a disciple of Nāgārjuna, was a Nālandā scholar. This, if true, would take back the antiquity of Nālandā by about a couple of centuries. The identity of both Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva and their precise time are not yet definitely determined. Bose, Indian Teachers, pp. 108-9.