Unravel wealth hidden in Buddha's Pali Language !!

Stressing on the importance of saving the great repository of information that has been recorded in Pali language, Professor C. Upendra Rao of the Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University said that Pali is an oft neglected language.

“In academics field, there are only a few people taking it up, and fewer still recognising the scientific wealth that has been recorded in the language.” “Three languages have recorded India's past - Sanskrit (Hindu tradition), Prakrit (Jain) and Pali, the language of Buddha. After the decline of Buddhism in India, the language died too. Surprisingly, edicts of the language are still preserved in Sri Lanka, which has many scholars, as well as the great repository of translated works in Tibet, China and beyond, where Indian masters taught the religion,” said Prof. Rao.

Nagarjuna's edicts

Andhra Pradesh has given birth to great Buddhist scholars such as Nagarjuna who was a scholar of Pali. Nagarjuna taught at Nalanda and was still exalted in China for taking the message of the Buddha to its people. Nagarjuna was known for teaching the law of relativity, and conceptualising several ideas. Nagarjuna mastered ayurvedic medicine.

However, today’s India lacks interest in studying these languages while foreign scholars are often in awe of the scientific and religious texts written in Pali, said Prof. Rao. “Pali literature gives better insights into exploring corporal and ethereal concepts than other classical languages,” he said.

Shared words with Telugu

Modern Telugu has several words of Pali in existence. Nagali, for a plough, chettha, for dust, vankara for curve and referring to a person’s demise as attaining ‘kaalam’ (becoming one with time) are a few examples of Pali words in use today. “The language of the Buddha needs a revival in terms of research in academics. I hope we do not turn partial to the language, riding on Sanskrit's assumed superiority,” said Prof. Rao.
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All about Nalanda !!

Nalanda is one of the most ancient centres for higher learning, and is known as one of the first great universities in recorded history. The ruins of this great historical university, only half excavated are located at a distance of about 62km from the holy town of Bodhgaya and 90km south of the capital of Bihar, Patna. Rajgir, the ancient capital of the Magadh Empire is at a distance of 15km from Nalanda.

Buddha is known to have visited this university several times during his life, however, on the basis of historical studies it is believed that Nalanda flourished between the 5th and the 12th century under the rule of Gupta king, Sakraditya. Nalanda was the biggest residential centre for learning that history has ever known. The downfall of Nalanda occurred when Turkish Muslims under the rule of Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed Nalanda in the 12th century A.D., which also saw a decline of Buddhism in India.

Nalanda covered the total area of 14 hectares, constructed with red bricks and gardens in the old Kushan architectural style. The university initially had around 2000 teachers and 10,000 Buddhist monks. It is also a known fact that between the 5th and 12th centuries, Emperor Ashoka and Harshvardhana, among a few other rulers, built temples and monasteries on campus that helped develop Nalanda. Hiuen Tsang, a Chinese pilgrim is known to have spent 3 years in Nalanda, and made detailed notes and records of the architecture, education, activities and curriculum in the flourishing days. On the other hand, the Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin who spent time in Nalanda in 12th century has made records of the destruction of the once flourishing and the first university of Nalanda. In 1951, an International Centre for Buddhist Studies was established here.

The ruins seen at Nalanda today are just that- ruins, but the structure and construction that can be seen today give a fairly good impression of the scholars and the kind of life they lived. The red bricked architecture site today is divided into zones consisting of 11 monasteries and temples. There is a Nalanda Archaeological Museum right opposite the entrance to the ruins that displays the various relics that were found in the area, both Buddhist and Hindu bronzed and many undamaged statues of Lord Buddha, copper plates, stone inscriptions, coins, pottery and even samples of burn rice among other things. Rajgir, Baragaon, Nava Nalanda Mahavir and Hieun Tsang Memorial are some of the other sites around the ruins that must be visited.
Best time to visit

The best time to visit Nalanda is during autumn and winters, when the weather is cool and makes sightseeing and exploring the ancient ruins a much enjoyable experience.

If you visit during April-May or October-November, you can get to experience one of the biggest Chhath Puja (prayer to the God Surya- the Sun God), that takes place at the Sun Temple in Baragaon, which is just 2 km from the ruins of Nalanda.
Trivia

There are various theories that decipher the meaning and the significance of the term Nalanda. Some say Nalanda means ‘insatiable in giving’. However, there is another theory that says ‘Nalam’ means lotus and ‘Da’ means to give, put together it means giving of lotus. Since, lotus symbolises knowledge, Nalanda means Giver of Knowledge.

There is another theory that Nalanda is named after a Naga (snake) that lived in the middle of a mango orchard.
Timing

The Nalanda Archaeological Museum remains open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. It is closed on Fridays.
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In letter to Krishna, Kalam slams Amartya Sen !!

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's letter, which he sent to Foreign Minister S M Krishna [ Images ] in July last year, has now come into public domain, slamming Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen [ Images ] for forcing him out of his brainchild project of the Nalanda University in Bihar as its first visitor.

He chose not to create a public controversy even while writing to Krishna, that he was upset the way the project was being handled and hence he couldn't remain associated with it any longer.

He wrote how sad he was at everything going wrong in his dream of reviving a great seat of learning in the Buddhist philosophy and statecraft, as perhaps the first residential international educational institution from 5th to 12th century off Patna, is besmirched with controversies even before it starts any academic courses.

The paragraph reads, "Having been involved in various academic and administrative proceedings of the Nalanda University since August 2007, I believe that the candidates to be selected/appointed to the post of chancellor and vice chancellor should be of extraordinary intellect with academic and management expertise."

"Both the chancellor and vice chancellor have to personally involve themselves full-time in Bihar, so that a robust and strong international institution is built," it read.

The ministry of external affairs had taken over the project as an international university, involving 16 ASEAN countries such as China, Japan Australia, Korea and Thailand, even while Kalam kept insisting that it should better be handled by the human resources development ministry, which has experience in the education field.

The government tried to suppress Kalam's damning letter as it was taken on record in the meeting of the governing board of the university, but was not made public until a Patna journalist wrote to him to get the truth out.

Kalam felt frustrated with the people at helm of affairs and his resignation was a rebuff to Sen and his protégé Dr Gopa Sabharwal, 'smuggled' in as the vice chancellor-designate without his knowledge.

Being chairman of the governing board, Sen's position is equivalent to chancellor (the university officially has no one as yet).

Having been at Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, Sen viewed Nalanda University through that prism, while Dr Kalam felt sad at finding no efforts to re-enact the glory of ancient Nalanda University in which students from all over East Asia came for studies and had Pandits such as Arya Dev, Silabhadra, Dharmapala, Santarakshita and Chandragomin who spent their lives for the sake of the institution.

The academics say the fault lies in the government for entrusting the task of reviving to Nalanda University to Sen as a testimony of India's obsequiousness, despite Kalam repeatedly warning them against it.

Kalam's letter is also an indictment of Sabharwal, who was just a sociology reader from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi, who was made the rector/vice chancellor-designate despite academics' protest that she had nothing to do with the Buddhist studies for which the university is to be set up, and was running it from Delhi.
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Nalanda University governing body to meet to discuss varsity necessities !!

The Nalanda University governing body that would meet in Patna on July 19-20 will discuss the faculty recruitment process for the two schools — Historical Studies and Environmental and Ecological Studies.

The two schools will start functioning from 2013-14. Nalanda University vice-chancellor Gopa Sabharwal, who was in Patna today, said: “At the governing body meet, the members will discuss various issues such as recruitment of faculties, what should be the criteria for the appointment of the faculties and others.”

Sabharwal added that the strength of the faculty for the two schools would also be discussed. She said: “We have to start the process because we will also have international faculties.”

The VC said apart from recruitment of faculties, at the governing body meet the members would also discuss the syllabi of the two schools.

She said the syllabi would be designed in such a way that it has a local flavour.

Sabharwal explained: “For example, the syllabus of environmental and ecological studies will cater to the flora and fauna of the ancient Nalanda site among many other things. This will help the students after graduating from the school to spread the message about the bionetwork of Nalanda.”

Eleven members of the board will participate in the governing body meet. The only member who would not be present at the meet is Prof. Prapod Assavavirulhakarn of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

The VC said that apart from the governing body meet, a three-day international conference starting from July 20 would also be organised.

The conference would be held in association with KP Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna.

The VC added that the varsity has received funds from China and Thailand. The Chinese government has provided $1million, while the Thai government has provided $1lakh to the university. The Thai government has also opened a bank account in their country to contribute to the international project. Sabharwal said: “We have come to know that huge amounts have been deposited in the Thailand account.”

Sabharwal ruled out allegations that the varsity has no offices in Bihar. She said: “There is an office in Rajgir with a few employees. I often visit the office to take stock of the progress of the work there.”

Nalanda University : An Avatar In Distress !!

Some nine centuries after the great seat of Buddhist learning was felled by the march of history, Parliament passed the Nalanda University Act in August 2010. Controversies continue to swirl around this ancient university being brought to life by an act of faith and law, mentored by a high-powered group of worthies led by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Questions continue to be asked about this modern-day liberal university in the making. Will Nalanda University take shape in New Delhi or in Nalanda, near Patna? Will its vice-chancellor be permanent? But most importantly, can Bihar, not exactly known for the quality of higher education it imparts, play host to an international university which, in its heyday (possibly in the Gupta dynasty era from the 6th century BC to the 12th century AD) was the repository of world knowledge?

The search for answers confuses matters even further. A call to the Union human resources and development ministry is almost invariably deflected to the Union ministry of external affairs, which is the nodal ministry for this international university. Just when you think Nalanda is the MEA’s baby, wait, there are more claimants, making it difficult to establish who’s doing what. From the Nalanda Mentor Group—which has on its rolls 16 ASEAN countries, including China, Japan, Australia, Korea and Thailand—to the MEA, Planning Commission, the state of Bihar—all driven by the single vision of seeing the university resurrected.

It has not been smooth thus far. To sort out some of the issues confronting the university, a couple of years after it was enacted, the Planning Commission will be meeting on June 25 to chalk out a roadmap. But resurrection comes with its attendant problems.

Is the VC’s CV good enough? Gopa Sabharwal has become VC on the counsel of the Prof Sen headed mentor group

Strictly speaking, it should be the HRD ministry that should be overseeing the implementation of this ambitious university. The MEA should step in only if there is an inter-governmental agreement. Yet, it is the latter which calls the shots. Nalanda was conceptualised as an international university involving the 16 ASEAN countries. China, it is learnt, has also initiated a similar university in Nepal. Will there be two international Buddhist universities fighting for honours—and funding? As of now, no one can tell.

“As Prof Sen said, it’s been more than 800 years since Nalanda university was ground to dust. We need time.”N.K. Singh, Committee member

But first, how generous has the Indian government been in spending money on this academic pursuit? From all indications, a little over Rs 2 crore has been spent on meetings held by the mentor group, constituted under the chairmanship of Prof Amartya Sen. The MEA had projected an outlay of Rs 598.95 crore for 2012-13 to be spent on the university. The Bihar government has already acquired and transferred 446 acres of land. Remember, the bill had put the estimated cost of establishing the university at Rs 1,005 crore.

The state government, it is learnt, is open to funds from private donors, as well as the governments of the East Asia region, which have initiated the project in the first place. Says N.K. Singh, member of the committee set up by the Planning Commission, “People are in a tearing hurry to see this university function. But I would like to quote Prof Amartya Sen that it has been more than 800 years since the Nalanda university was ground to dust, we need to give ourselves some time.”

As for the controversy surrounding the appointment of the vice-chancellor, which many say was an arbitrary decision, Singh says the matter is “settled”. Gopa Sabharwal, professor of sociology from Delhi University whose name was approved by the high-profile mentor group headed by Prof Sen, will draw a monthly salary of Rs 5 lakh, perhaps making her the highest-paid academician in the country. While her suitability for the post is a matter of heated debate, Singh says it is a non-issue now.

Yet, academicians flag concerns. Says Dr Apoorvaanand of Delhi University, “When you intend to resurrect something, in this case, a university, it becomes a caricature of its former self.” The project has been flawed from the very beginning, he maintains. Apoorvaanand wonders whether Nalanda has the infrastructure to host an international university. Answers to that will have to wait, for they are hard to come by. For its part, the Bihar government is pushing for a dedicated airport, highways, as well as development of agriculture.

While a confident Singh unveils his vision for the university, it might be noted that, only a month ago, vice-chancellor Gopa Sabharwal, citing lack of infrastructure, shifted to New Delhi—lock, stock and office. Her rationale: New Delhi would give a prominent place to the university. Singh, however, denies this and says that the vice-chancellor has given an assurance that she will work from Nalanda. “There is absolutely no doubt in our mind that the university will be based in Nalanda.”

The issue, though, appears far from resolved. While the MEA, it is learnt, was in favour of having an administrative office in the national capital, making liaising easy, the Bihar state government wants the university back where it belongs—in the state. While there appears to be a communication gap between the Centre and the state, the subject of Sabharwal’s credentials continues to be fodder for gossip.

“How can an international university have a vice-chancellor who does not have the requisite qualifications to chair the university?” ask some academicians. While Sabharwal’s colleagues vouch for her academic achievements, the fact that she has nothing to do with Buddhist studies is not lost on many. How she was chosen over others, too, remains mired in mystery. Is she VC-elect or VC-designate? Of course, the mouth-watering pay package of Rs 5 lakh per month (tax exempt) she will get has also become the subject of envy.

What about courses and infrastructure, the backbone of any university in the making? The campus in Nalanda just has a wall to show for all the effort so far. The first two faculties to kick off the academic exercise in this university will be environmental studies and historical studies, to be followed by others such as information technology and international relations. It is perhaps a sign of the changes since the original Nalanda that the courses being introduced reflect contemporary needs fuelled by a global market.

“A university stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for the adventure of ideas and for the search of truth,” said Jawaharlal Nehru. “It stands for the onward march of the human race towards even higher objectives. If the university discharges its duties adequately, then it is well with the people and the nation.” This speech was recently reiterated by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury in a debate on the university in Parliament. Will the university fulfil the visions of the first prime minister, the scholars who studied in the ancient university of Nalanda and the parliamentarians who passed the act? Well, frankly, we don’t know. At this moment, in the best of traditions, a debate rages on.
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Row over Nalanda University’s international school !!

Parliamentary panel wants it to be set up on the main campus

The ambitious project to revive Nalanda University has been caught up in a row.
A parliamentary panel has strongly opposed the plan of the proposed varsity’s Governing Board to set up its School of International Relations and Peace Studies in Delhi and not on the main campus coming up near the ruins of the ancient seat of learning at Rajgir in Bihar.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs took exception to the plan to set up the School of International Relations and Peace Studies of the proposed Nalanda University in Delhi and recommended that the government should review the decision to ensure that it comes up on the main campus itself. The panel also opposed the plan to have a project office for the proposed varsity in the national capital.

In a report that was recently submitted to Parliament, the panel noted that setting up the school and having a project office in Delhi would go against the spirit of the project to revive Nalanda University.

“This will defeat the very purpose of setting up the varsity at the ancient seat of knowledge in Nalanda,” Shivanand Tiwari, a MP of the ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar and a member of the parliamentary panel, told Deccan Herald on Sunday.

The decision to set up the School of International Relations and Peace Studies in Delhi was taken long back by the Nalanda Mentor Group, which has now been turned into the Governing Board for the proposed university. In a meeting held in New Delhi on August 12-13, 2008, the Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, agreed that while the location of the university would be in Bihar, a School of International Relations could be set up in the national capital.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, which is the nodal ministry for the project, the Governing Board not only reaffirmed the decision later, but also decided in a meeting in Patna in July 2011 that the university would continue to have a presence in Delhi even after the campus was built in Rajgir.

Board’s vision

“From the initial stages of our discussion, we conceived Nalanda University to be a network of centres, institutions and affiliates with the core located in Bihar. Again, this is similar to what happened with ancient Nalanda,” Tansen Sen, a member of the Governing Board, told Deccan Herald, justifying the decision to have one of the seven schools of the proposed varsity in Delhi.

“The Chinese monk Yijing, for example, studied Sanskrit in Sriwijaya (present-day Sumatra in Indonesia) before enrolling at Nalanda. People questioning the idea of establishing the School of International Relations and Peace Studies in Delhi might have also objected to Yijing studying Sanskrit outside India,” added Sen, an associate professor of Asian History in the City University of New York.

In March 2006, the then President A P J Abdul Kalam first mooted the idea of reviving the ancient Nalanda University, which was a seat of learning since 5th century AD till 12th century AD and drew scholars from China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.

Parliament finally passed the Nalanda University Act in 2010, paving the way for the varsity to come up at the 450-acre site chosen by the Bihar Government in Rajgir. The project is also supported by the member-states of the East Asia Summit.

The MEA, in a note to the House panel, pointed out that the Nalanda University Act allowed setting up centres at different places having the main campus in Bihar.

The Royal Road to nirvana -Nalanda University !!

The ruins of Nalanda, the ancient centre of learning transports us to another era where history, architecture and knowledge blend seamlessly

The ruins of Nalanda stretch out below us, a poem in red. The remains of this ancient monastic university, located on the way from Patna to Rajgir consist of classrooms, stupas, monk's cells and temples. The crimson of the bricks glows in the light of the midday sun, making up an evocative tapestry.

Some of the bricks look worn with age while others look bright and new; one admires their quality and endurance for the university is said to have flourished from the 5th to the 12th Century A.D. I have only to shut my eyes to think of the robed monks making their way across the impressive structures to attend classes in logic, grammar or medicine. And above all Buddhist studies. All the subjects Nalanda was famous for and that brought students here from many countries. All the more awesome to think of these seekers of knowledge making their way here through arduous journeys by land —often long miles by foot — and sea.

Spanning dynasties

Nalanda was believed to have been visited by Buddha and Mahavira in the 6th Century B.C. Mahavira is said to have often spent the rainy season here, according to Jain texts. The ruins conjure up a panorama of planned and well-executed architecture. During the excavations, nine levels of construction were discovered, contributed to by the various dynasties — the Gupta, Sunga and Pala rulers. The ruins are at various levels. Presiding over them all are the grand ruins of the great temple with the shallow steps leading up to it. Our guide, an elderly man, has a Masters in Pali.

“The curved shape that forms the base on the ground is typical of the architecture of the Gupta dynasty while the bricks in the reconstructed ruins are an intermingling of various centuries,” he says.

As one walks up the steps to a reconstructed parapet or down to the granary or the cell of the monks with its stone beds, it is easy to visualise their way of life. The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien perhaps visited Nalanda in the 4th Century A.D. while Hiuen Tsang did so in the 7th Century A.D., our guide goes on. Why is it, I wonder, that most of us remember Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang so clearly from our school lessons while countless other historical personalities have been quietly interred in the memory? Hiuen Tsang's lyrical description when he came here during the reign of King Harshavardhana who was a great patron of Nalanda matches the poetic name of the university that derived from the lotus, the symbol of knowledge: “where an azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus…”

Nalanda spread its fragrance till the invasion by the Turks destroyed it in the 12th Century. The university was also devastated by fire. It vanished from view, an obscure mound till Francis Buchanan discovered it in 1812. But it was Sir Alexander Cunningham who identified it as Nalanda in 1861. The Archaeological Survey of India took up the excavation in a big way in the early years of the last century.

At the archaeological museum nearby we see magnificent images of the Buddha, terracotta figures and artefacts recovered from the site. But what is unique is the image of Trailokyvijaya trampling over Siva and Parvati, testifying to the tussle between Buddhism and Hinduism.

From Nalanda we hop over to Rajgir, just 12 km away. We stop at the base of the hill at the small ropeway station. A chair car appears swinging before me, someone thrusts me in, slams the horizontal bar and before I know it I am airborne with only my prayers to keep me company. Eyes shut, I manage to reach the top. But is it worth it! The domed white structure that houses images of the Buddha in the four corners is striking.

But more impressive is the fact that the Buddha would climb up here to Griddhakuta or Hill of the Vultures to deliver his sermons to his disciples and to the crowds gathered below.

After descending the hill and travelling a short distance, we are brought to earth with a nasty thud as we near the remnants that are claimed to have been a royal jail. It is believed King Bimbisara of Magadha was imprisoned here by his son Ajathashatru in an unforgivable hurry to get to the throne. Bimbisara who adored the Buddha drew solace from watching him ascend the hill to deliver his sermon.

We feel the Buddha's aura in full at Vaishali a few hours later. For, these were the paths he walked on to arrive at this, his monsoon retreat.

The last sermon

We soon come upon a magnificent sight in Kolhua — a huge stupa surrounded by smaller ones. Towering above them is the Asokan pillar mounted by the lion — he sits there firmly, lord of all that he surveys and witness to the events of the past 2,300 years! The plaque says this was where Buddha preached his last sermon and announced his approaching nirvana. It was also here that the remarkable dancer Amrapali was converted into a nun by the Buddha. It was a story waiting to be told on the celluloid. And so it was in the Sixties with the beautiful Vyjayanthimala playing Amrapali with whom Vaishali's enemy Ajathashatru (Sunil Dutt) falls in love.

We also visit the stupa now in ruins, which marks the spot where one eighth of the relics of the Buddha were buried. As we drive back to Patna, the past seems more potent than the present and the intervening centuries, a mirage.