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

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 119
as a centre of learning. During the short interval
of thirty years between the visits of Yuan Chwang
and I-tsing, Thon-mi, Hiuen Chiu, Taou-hi, Hwui-nieh,
Āryavarman, Buddhadharma, Taou-sing, Tang and
Hwui Lu, hailing from distant countries like China,
Korea, Tibet and Tokhara had visited Nālandā and
spent considerable time there in studying and copying
manuscripts.¹ The standard of admission was naturally
high; 'of those from abroad, who wished to enter
the schools of discussion, the majority, beaten by
the difficulties of the problems, withdrew; and those
who were deeply versed in old and modern learning
were admitted, only two or three out of ten
succeeding²'.
Library Facilities: The Nālandā authorities had
realised that a monastery without a library was like
a castle without an armoury. The University was
maintaining a splendid library to meet the needs of
the hundreds of teachers and thousands of students
that were engaged in the study of different sciences.
One of the reasons why Chinese scholars used to
spend months together at Nālandā was to get true
copies of the sacred texts and other works of
Buddhism. I-tsing got copied at Nālandā 400
Sanskrit works amounting to 5,00,000 verses.
Significantly enough the library quarter was known
as Dharma-gañja 'Mart of Religion.' It was located
in three splendid buildings appropriately called
Ratna-sāgara, Ratnodadhi and Ratnarañjaka.⁴
Lecturing Arrangement; Strength of Classes:
In the monk population of about 5,000 (perhaps 10,000)
1 Life, Introduction, pp. XXVII-XXXVI
2. Watters, II, p. 165
3. I-tsing, p. 1
4. Vidyabhushana, History of Indian Logic, p. 516