The monasteries of Nalanda, Vikramashila and Odantapuri were destroyed by the forces of which invader?
- A.Mahmud of Ghazni
- B.Muhammad Ghori
- C.Bakhtiyar Khalji
- D.Timur
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Bakhtiyar Khalji. Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a commander in the service of the Ghurids, overran Bihar at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century and destroyed the monastic universities of the region, after which organised Buddhist learning in eastern India came to an end. Option A is wrong because Mahmud of Ghazni raided western and northern India in the early eleventh century and never reached the Bihar monasteries. Option B is wrong because Muhammad Ghori, though the overlord under whom Bakhtiyar Khalji served, fought his battles in the north-west and the Ganga doab, notably at Tarain. Option D is wrong because Timur invaded India much later, in 1398, and his march was directed at Delhi.
Read the full article: Ancient Universities of India: Nalanda, Takshashila, PYQs
Practice Questions
View allThe Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, Xuan Zang, came to the Indian subcontinent about ______ years ago.
- A.1100
- B.1700
- C.2000
- D.1400
Show answer
Xuan Zang, also written Hiuen Tsang, travelled in India in the seventh century of the Christian era, during the reign of Harshavardhana of Kannauj, which is roughly fourteen hundred years before our own time.
Read the full explanation →The Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by which ruler?
- A.Ashoka
- B.Kumaragupta I
- C.Harshavardhana
- D.Dharmapala
Show answer
The Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I founded the Nalanda Mahavihara in the fifth century of the Christian era near Rajgir in present-day Bihar, and a seal bearing his name has been found at the site.
Read the full explanation →Vikramashila, the great centre of tantric Buddhist learning, was founded by which king?
- A.Gopala
- B.Dharmapala
- C.Devapala
- D.Mahipala
Show answer
The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramashila at Antichak in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar about the turn of the ninth century, and it became famous for tantric studies and for the scholars called dvarapanditas who examined candidates at its gates.
Read the full explanation →The ancient seat of learning Takshashila was situated in which region?
- A.Magadha
- B.Gandhara
- C.Avanti
- D.Vatsa
Show answer
Takshashila, called Taxila by Greek and later English writers, was the capital of the Mahajanapada of Gandhara in the north-west of the subcontinent, in what is now the Rawalpindi district of Pakistan, and it was already a famous centre of learning in the time of the Buddha.
Read the full explanation →Who was the head of the Nalanda Mahavihara when Xuan Zang studied there?
- A.Nagarjuna
- B.Shilabhadra
- C.Dharmakirti
- D.Atisha Dipankara
Show answer
The Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang studied the Yogachara philosophy at Nalanda under Shilabhadra, who was then the aged head of the monastery, during the reign of Harshavardhana in the seventh century.
Read the full explanation →