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

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 121 the one without the other had become practically impossible not only for the ambitious controversialist but also for the sincere lover of truth. Buddhists themselves inform us that the three Vedas, Vedānta and Sāṁkhya philosophy were taught at the University along with ‘miscellaneous works’¹. The latter expression probably included the study of subjects like Dharmaśāstra (sacred law), Purāṇas, astronomy, astrology etc., which were very important for the lay Hindu and Buddhist students. The study of medicine chikitsāśāstra) which is referred to in the sacred canon, was also prosecuted at the place. Administration: At the head of the general administration was the abbot-principal, who used to be assisted by two councils, one academic and the other administrative. How these bodies used to function has been already described in the last chapter. To arrange for the free boarding and lodging of so vast a number of students as 5,000 (or perhaps 10,000) was a very costly affair ; the University was enabled to do it because different kings had assigned the revenues of a large number of villages for the upkeep of the establishment. The number of these villages was 200 during I-tsing’s stay at the University (c. 675-685 A.D.). Sealings of a number of these villages, obviously attached to letters sent by them to the University administration, have been found in excavations. Later History ; A Foreign Endowment : Nālandā continued to be a famous centre of learning down to the 12th century A. D. An 8th century inscription describes how it was then excelling all other towns and cities on account of its scholars who were

1. Life, p. 112.
2. Mahāvagga, Chap. VI.