Nālandā

views updated May 18 2018

Nālandā. The site of a ruined Buddhist monastery and stūpa in Bihar, N. India.

The Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang described Nālandā during the 7th cent., when it was visited by pilgrims from all over the Buddhist world. Despite being fortified, it was destroyed, probably by Muslim armies, sometime in the late 12th cent.

Nālandā is also a significant holy site for Jains since it is associated with the life of Mahāvīra.

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