The Nalanda ruins are just a stone’s throw from the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara University in Bargaon. A world heritage site, it has archaeological remains from the third century BCE to the 13th century CE, including stupas, shrines, viharas and art works in stucco, stone and metal. The entire area is protected and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The most ancient university of the Indian subcontinent, Nalanda was engaged in the organised transmission of knowledge over a period of 800 years.
The ruins of Nalanda university are spread across an area of 23 hectares and include 11 viharas and 14 temples, besides many smaller shrines and votive structures.
British surveyor Francis Buchanan, who in 1812 noticed Nalanda’s importance, described it as the ruins of Kundalipur. Later, in 1847, archaeologist Markham Kittoe attempted to identify Bargaon ruins as ancient Nalanda, and Alexander Cunnigham confirmed it in 1861. It was only in 1915, under American archaeologist D.B. Spooner, that regular excavation of mounds at the site commenced, and it continued up to 1937.
There were multiple temples in the ruins of Nalanda, including Hindu structures, which implied education was not just about religion.
Temple No 3 is the oldest structure and dates back to third century BCE. Apparently, it had seven successive phases of construction. The first three stages were small and concealed. The rest were extensive. The location was initially a stupa, which later expanded as a chaitya (prayer hall) of the panchayatan form. It is believed that emperor Ashoka consecrated the corporal remains of Sariputta, one of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, with construction of a stupa that became the nucleus of Nalanda.