CHAPTER I Ta BRIEF GEOGRAPHICAL AND

CHAPTER I t A BRIEF GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL BACK GROUND OF nJ^LANDK Nalanda which Is sltxiated about 95 kms south east of Patna and 10 kms north of Rajglr# ancient Rajagrha« is famous for its monastic establishment. It is located at 25°8» N latitude and 85®27*Ê longitude, Nalanda is known to have played a significant role in the history of later Buddhism* Archaeologists and historians have identified this place with the modem village of Baragaon in the district of Patna^. The name Baragaon has been derived from the original name vihara^ - grama. A The climate of this region is characterised by a pleasant cold-season, a hot and somewhat dry summer and a monsoon season with its moist heat and oppressive nights* The winter starts early in November and lasts till about the middle of M a r c h , The summer follows and continues till mid - J\ine when the South-west monsoons commence. The monsoon season is generally over by thps end of September; October is transition month* In the alluvial region which forms the greater portion of the Patna« Gaya and Nalanda districts rlce« wheat# pulses, sugar-cane and a great variety of other crops are extensively grown* The areas not xinder cultivation are bare or dotted over by clumps of bamboos and mango orchards* Throughout this tract the mango*, plpal and banyan are connon# the other principal trees being the Bel« Nlm, Slrls« Slsu^ Jack-fruit* The carnivora of the districts ccraprlse leopard, hyaena and some smaller animals, such as Jackal, fox and wild cat* Nilgai (baselaphus tragocamelus)# Black buck (antllope cervlcapra) and wild pigs also Inhabit the area* Leopards are occasionally found In the southern hills extending south - west wards from Glrlak and confine their depredations to cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and small ponies* The black bear (Ursus lablatus) is also occasionally sighted in the Rajglr hills, wild pig is seen in the neighbourhood, and also on the chars and dlaras of the son and the Ganga* The game birds in the hills consist of Pea-fowl, J\ingle fowl, grey partridge, black partridge and the bush Quail* Green pigeons eu:e conmon and rock pigeons also visit the plains during harvest time. The Ganga and Son contain a great number of edible £lshes» Fish of all kinds and all sizes are caught* but the most valuable belong to the Carp family* such as Rohu and Katla. Propoises abound in the Ganga and tortoises are also coramon. Both the snub-nosed crocodile and the gharial are found in the same river* Various species of snakes are found throughout the region* It has been claimed that Buddha and Mahavira visited Nalanda several times. The mango grove of Pavarika (Pava) was Buddha *a favourite ha\int* Being the bixrth place as veil as the place of demise of Sariputta received for the Buddhist sanctities* Taranatha* the celebrated Buddhist scholar, mentions that As^'oka worshipped the Chaitya of Sariputta and erected a temple there* According to some Jaina texts# it was* perhaps# — — M 8 at the same place that Mahavira met Mankkhali Gosala • The early history of the monastic establishment of Nalanda can be traced back to the reign of the great Mauryan King# A&oka* According to Taranatha Asoka gave offerings to the Chaitya of Sariputra and constructed a temple* However# archaeological excavations at Nalanda have not yet revealed any proof that it was occupied prior to the time of the Imperial Guptas* Undoubtedly it began to asstime importance from the time of the late Gupta Kings (5th-6th century A.D.)* Epigraphic# Numismatic and literary evidences shed light on the flourishing state of monastic establishments at Nalanda from the 5th to the end of 12th centuries A.D* Yuan- chwang# the celebrated Chinese pilgrim# who had spent some time in one of the monasteries of Nalanda# presented a detailed graphic account of the various Buddhist establishments* According to him "A foimer king of the country named Sakraditya selected by augury a luc3cy spot' and built here a monastery* His successors Budhagupta# Tathagata gupta* Baladitya and Vajra built some monasteries near lay Sakradity *s^* Sakraditya has been identified by Yuan chwang as Kumara gupta I (413-455 A.D.)# the mona steries of Nalanda were founded during his reign* That the monasteries of Nalanda were the creation of the Gupta kings* beginning with Kumara gupta I receives further confirmation from the fact that Fa-Hien, the Chinese Pilgrim, who visited India early 5th century A.D./ in the time of Chandra gupta II Vikramaditya, does not mention the monastic establishment at Nalanda* Fa-Hien referred the village 'Nalo• is one Yojana or Seven miles away from Rajagriha where Giryek temple is located* Yuan chwang also supported the view and said that Nalanda was one Yojana away from Raj agriha* lÛan chwang further cononented that Nalanda was situated about seven Yojanas i#e«« about fortynine miles away from the holy pipal tree# at Bodh-gaya/ under which the Buddha attained Salvation^. This is really a correct description since by road» it measured Nalanda, will be forty miles away from Bodh-gaya. According to the Sarayutta Nikaya there was a road from Raj agriha to Nalanda and the Buddha took this road in course of one of his journeys and during 7 his travel« once he was seen seated on the road side* The present site of Nalanda was identified in the past by various other names* It was known as Nalaka or Nalakagramaka • It is possible that Nala, Nalaka« Nalakagrama and Nalanda were different names for the same place* some ancient legends suggest that the name Nalanda is derived frc»i the name of a dragon called Nalanda believed to have lived in a pool to the south of Nalanda near a mango grove* Yaan chwang narrate a similar story - that the place was named after the Naga who resided in a local pond* To him, in one of his previous births the Buddha became a king and his capital — — 9 — « was at Nalanda * In the Mahavastu^, the place has been referred to as Nalanda grama3ca^®« I-Tsing# another Chinese Traveller who visited India after ^ a n chwang believed that Nalanda derived Its name frcxn Nagananda^^. considering the two contradictory statements of Yuan chwang and I-Tsing, Sankalia Surmises that I-Tsing referred to the name of a Naga where as Yuan chwang recorded the name which Naga acquired afterwardso According to Sankalia this Naga came to be known as the Naga of Nalanda that was subsequently shortened into Naganalanda or Nalandanaga^^. Incidentally it may be mentioned that Cunningham, who carried out excavations at Nalanda repoirted the existence of a small tank called Kargidya Pokhar# the location of which corresponds exactly to that of the Nalanda tank mentioned in written records and is the identical part of the Naga^^. Beal came forward with a new idea regarding to the name Nalanda* He tried to analyse the etymological » —1 4 meaning of the term Nalanda • He divided the word Nalanda as 'na-alam-da' which means *not giving enough* or *not having enough to give.' This meaning, however# does not seem to fit# considering the famous reputation acquired by the Institutions at Nalanda. Contrary to this suggestion a C h in e s e source came forward to state that in one of his former births the Buddha was b o m as the king of this place and was known for his charities* He never uttered such words as 'na-alam-da* by which the place came to be known as Nalanda^^. In the account of this Chinese traveller the name Nalanda derived from the lotus-pool (Lotus stand for Nala); a place of lotuses. The history of the territory now comprising the state of Bihar, though It has some degree of unity in great extent the history of two distinct regions, separated by the Ganga* The North of the great river Ganga stretched towards and to the forward the south. Mlthlla was first aryanlzed, but It lost prominence to Magadha, which became the centre of great empires. The former was usually a strong hold of Brahraanic orthodoxy, while the latter was one of the earliest homes of Buddhism, and it continued as the centre of that faith vintll the musllm conquest. Thus the character and fortunes of the two parts of Bihar have been very different# The districts of Nalanda and Patna formed a part of Magadha, it is curious and interesting to examine how the word “Magadha" originated and what it signifies. The Rgveda does not mention this word. In the Yajurveda we often find minstrels, called Magadhas, singing on the t 16 occasion of Sacrifice . Martin is of the opinion that Magadha was named after the Maga caste of Brahmanas who are said to have come from SakadvTpa^^. However, we know that the region was known by the name of Magadha long before the âkas had penetrated India. Zimmer^® and 8 19 Weber Identify Magadha with the region knovm as Klkata in the Rgveda. The word Magadha actually occurs in the Atharvaveda^®^ where its inhabitants are held in deep contempt together with the Afigas« Gandharas and others. According to Varaha - mihira MagadhST was situated in the eastern division of India. However# the Vayu-Purana• 22 included Magadha in earlier texts, often considered a non-Aryan land in the Madhya desa* The Ramayana and the Mahabharata often refer to Magadha. Asoka used the word Magadha in one of his 23 Inscriptions . None of the so\irces present a clear pictiire of the exact extent of Magadha.

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