Aspirant Academy
ENHI

RAS question

Consider the following statements about Nalanda University: I. Nalanda was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1193–1203 CE II. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) visited Nalanda during the reign of Harshavardhana III. Nalanda was primarily a center for Theravada Buddhism IV. The library at Nalanda, known as Dharmaganja, comprised three large buildings called Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi, and Ratnaranjaka Which of the above statements are correct?

Correct answer: (A) I, II and IV only.

Nalanda was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1193-1203 CE, Xuanzang visited it during Harshavardhana's reign, and its Dharmaganja library had three major buildings, but Nalanda was a Mahayana rather than primarily Theravada centre.

  1. (A)

    I, II and IV only

  2. (B)

    I, II and III only

  3. (C)

    II, III and IV only

  4. (D)

    I, II, III and IV

Explanation

Statements I, II and IV are correct, while Statement III is not. Bihar Tourism's official page on the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara says the university was founded in the 5th century CE, flourished for about 700 years, and received its final blow from Bakhtiyar Khilji's invasion around 1200 CE. Nalanda taught Buddhist scriptures of the Mahayana and Hinayana schools, along with philosophy, logic, grammar, astronomy and medicine; as a primarily Mahayana centre, it cannot be called mainly Theravada. Xuanzang's visit falls within Harshavardhana's reign, and Dharmaganja comprised Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi and Ratnaranjaka.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (B) It includes Statement III, but Nalanda was primarily Mahayana, not Theravada, and it also leaves out the correct library statement.
  • (C) It omits Statement I even though Bakhtiyar Khilji's invasion around 1200 CE is the stated final blow to Nalanda, and it wrongly includes the Theravada claim.
  • (D) It treats all four statements as correct, but Statement III fails because Nalanda was not primarily a Theravada institution.

Concept

This tests ancient Indian centres of learning and Buddhist institutional history. RAS often asks such statement-combination questions because Nalanda links dynastic chronology, foreign travellers and religious-intellectual traditions.

Source

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