Who destroyed the monastic universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila at the end of the twelfth century?
- A.Mahmud of Ghazni
- B.Bakhtiyar Khalji
- C.Timur
- D.Alauddin Khalji
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Bakhtiyar Khalji. Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a commander in the service of the Ghurids, overran the middle Ganga plain at the end of the twelfth century, sacking Odantapuri and Vikramshila and laying Nalanda waste soon after. With the monasteries gone, organised Buddhist learning in eastern India came to an end and survived mainly in Tibet.
Option A is wrong because Mahmud of Ghazni raided the north west and Gujarat in the early eleventh century and never reached Bihar. Option C is wrong because Timur invaded in 1398, two centuries later, and turned back from Delhi. Option D is wrong because Alauddin Khalji ruled Delhi in the early fourteenth century, long after the monasteries had been destroyed. Note also that the same campaign ended organised Buddhist learning in eastern India, which is a common statement based question.
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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