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

114 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
number of works on sacred law (Dharmaśāstra),
grammar, poetics, logic and philosophy were composed
by Benares scholars in medieval times. If put
together, they would be equal to the work done by
any other five centres of learning in India. This would
give some idea of the literary and educational pre-
eminence of Benares during the medieval period.
NĀLANDĀ.
Early History : Nālandā, about 40 miles south of
Patna, was a famous Buddhist place since early times,
as it was the place of the birth and death of Sāriputta,
the right hand disciple of the Buddha. Asoka is said to
have built a temple there. But its rise as a centre of
learning has to be placed by about 450 A.D. ; for
Fa Hsien, who visited the place in c. 410 A.D. does
not refer to its educational importance.¹ Very soon
thereafter Nālandā rapidly rose into importance owing
to the patronage of a number of Gupta emperors.
That the Gupta rulers, who were themselves orthodox
Hindus, should have contributed a lion's share to the
development, equipment and endowment of the
greatest Buddhist University speaks volumes for the
catholicity of the age. Śakrāditya, who was probably
Kumāragupta I (414-454 A.D.), laid the foundation
of the greatness of Nālandā by founding and endowing
a monastery there. The splendid Buddha temple
in this monastery was for centuries the central
place of worship for the congregation. Tathāgatagupta,
(who cannot yet be definitely identified), Narasiṁha-
gupta Bālāditya, (468-472 A. D.) and Budhagupta

1. According to Tārānāth, Āryadeva, a disciple of Nāgārjuna,
   was a Nālandā scholar. This, if true, would take back the antiquity
   of Nālandā by about a couple of centuries. The identity of both
   Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva and their precise time are not yet definitely
   determined. Bose, Indian Teachers, pp. 108-9.