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

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 121
the one without the other had become practically
impossible not only for the ambitious controversialist
but also for the sincere lover of truth. Buddhists
themselves inform us that the three Vedas, Vedānta
and Sāṁkhya philosophy were taught at the
University along with ‘miscellaneous works’¹. The
latter expression probably included the study of
subjects like Dharmaśāstra (sacred law), Purāṇas,
astronomy, astrology etc., which were very important
for the lay Hindu and Buddhist students. The study
of medicine chikitsāśāstra) which is referred to in the
sacred canon, was also prosecuted at the place.
Administration: At the head of the general
administration was the abbot-principal, who used to
be assisted by two councils, one academic and the
other administrative. How these bodies used to function
has been already described in the last chapter. To
arrange for the free boarding and lodging of so vast a
number of students as 5,000 (or perhaps 10,000) was
a very costly affair ; the University was enabled to do
it because different kings had assigned the revenues
of a large number of villages for the upkeep of the
establishment. The number of these villages was 200
during I-tsing’s stay at the University (c. 675-685
A.D.). Sealings of a number of these villages,
obviously attached to letters sent by them to the
University administration, have been found in
excavations.
Later History ; A Foreign Endowment : Nālandā
continued to be a famous centre of learning
down to the 12th century A. D. An 8th century
inscription describes how it was then excelling all other
towns and cities on account of its scholars who were

1. Life, p. 112.
2. Mahāvagga, Chap. VI.