Nalanda Ancient University Archaeological Ruins Bihar

Nalanda in Bihar preserves the ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara — the world's first residential university, active from the 5th to 12th centuries CE, which at its peak housed 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers studying Buddhist philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, and astronomy from across Asia under royal Gupta and Pala dynasty patronage. The university complex included nine monasteries, six temples, and a celebrated library called Dharmaganja described by Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang as so vast that when it burned in the 1193 CE attack by Bakhtiyar Khilji it smouldered for three months. The ruins spread across 14 hectares and have been excavated since the 1860s by the ASI, revealing red-brick stupa-monastery complex architecture. The Nalanda Mahavihara ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2016). A modern Nalanda University was established in Rajgir, Bihar in 2010 as a revival of the ancient institution under an international consortium. Nalanda Museum holds rare stone sculptures, terracotta figurines, and copper plate inscriptions from the excavations.