In which year was the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List?
- A.2002
- B.2010
- C.2016
- D.2021
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 2016. The archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar was added to the World Heritage List in 2016, in recognition of a monastic and scholastic institution that functioned without a break from the third century before the Common Era to the thirteenth century. The listed property covers the stupas, shrines, monasteries and art works uncovered on the site.
Option A is wrong because 2002 is associated with other Indian listings such as Bodh Gaya, the Mahabodhi temple complex, which is also in Bihar. Option B is wrong because 2010 is the year of the Act of Parliament that set up the modern Nalanda University at Rajgir, a different matter. Option D is wrong because no listing of Nalanda took place in 2021.
Read the full article: Nalanda, Vikramshila and Ancient Learning in Bihar
Practice Questions
View allNalanda was an ancient centre of learning for which religion?
- A.Islam
- B.Christianity
- C.Jainism
- D.Buddhism
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Nalanda was a Buddhist monastic university, a mahavihara, where the main course of study was the Mahayana canon along with logic, grammar, medicine and astronomy.
Read the full explanation →The Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by which ruler?
- A.Ashoka
- B.Kumaragupta the first
- C.Harshavardhana
- D.Dharmapala
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The Gupta emperor Kumaragupta the first, who appears in the records with the title Shakraditya, founded the monastic university at Nalanda in the fifth century.
Read the full explanation →Under which teacher did the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang study at Nalanda?
- A.Shilabhadra
- B.Nagarjuna
- C.Atisha Dipankara
- D.Shantarakshita
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Hiuen Tsang reached Nalanda in the seventh century during the reign of Harshavardhana and spent several years there studying the Yogachara philosophy under Shilabhadra, who was then the abbot.
Read the full explanation →Vikramshila university was founded by which ruler?
- A.Gopala
- B.Devapala
- C.Dharmapala
- D.Kumaragupta the first
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The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramshila in the late eighth century at Antichak in what is now Bhagalpur district, on a height above the Ganga, as a rival and a complement to Nalanda.
Read the full explanation →The remains of Vikramshila are located in which district of Bihar?
- A.Nalanda
- B.Bhagalpur
- C.Gaya
- D.Vaishali
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Vikramshila stood at Antichak village in Bhagalpur district, on raised ground overlooking the Ganga, and excavation has revealed a great cruciform stupa at the centre with monastic cells arranged in a square around it, a plan very different from the rows of monasteries at Nalanda.
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