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Ancient Centres Of Learning

Centres of higher learning developed as universities in the ancient period. The universities had thousands of
students, scholars of high eminence and a wide variety of subjects.

Takshashila is the oldest among the universities Vikramshila was one of the two most important centres
in ancient India. It was a well known centre of of Buddhist learning in India under the Pala Empire. It was
learning during 700 BCE. Around 68 subjects established by King Dharampala. The institute represented
were taught at this university. The famous treatise the Mahayana School of Buddhism and was well known for
Arthashastra by Chanakya, is said to have been its specialised training in Tantra.
composed in Takshashila. apeksha. P, iX a, bharatiya Vidya bhavan’s Public school, Vidyashram,
Taxila •
shreya rawat, Vii, Pine hall school, Dehradun; aryan Jubilee hills, hyderabad; Tanishq shivanand, Vii, Jankidevi Public
rawat, Viii, raksha anusandhan Vidyalaya, Dehradun; school, Jaipur
antony augustus, Vii a, st. Paul’s school, Fort Kochi;
Priyanka, Xi, siddhartha international school, hisar Odantapuri

Nalanda • • • •
•
Valabhi was situated in Saurashtra in Odantapuri University
Western India. Along with instruction Valabhi • Jagaddala was established in the
Somapura
in the Buddhist doctrines, Brahmanical • Vikramshila 8th century by King
sciences also used to be taught at this Dharmapala of the Pala
place. In about the middle of the 7th Pushpagiri Dynasty. This university
century when Hiuen Tsang visited the was constructed in
place, there were 6,000 monks studying Magadha — present day
at the university. Somapura was established by King Dharampala Bihar. According to Tibetan
in the late 8th century CE. It was a major learning references, there were
banshika, Viii a, Parmarth international school, centre for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. about 12,000 students in
baijnath; ridhi Mereddy, Viii D, bharatiya Vidya The uniqueness of the monastery is found in its
bhavan’s Public school, Vidyashram, Jubilee this university.
hills, hyderabad design, influenced by other cultures, such as,
Java (Indonesia). Palak, Vii C, saraswati Public
school, Jagadhri
babita, Viii C, saraswati Public school, Jagadhri

Jagaddala Mahavihara specialised in Vajrayana
Buddhism. The mahavihara was founded by King
Ramapala. It is believed that the earliest dated
anthology of Sanskrit verse was compiled by Vidyakara
at Jagaddala in the 11th-12th century.

Nidhi Vishalbhai Modi, Vii C, bhavan’s shri a.K. Doshi Vidyalaya,
Jamnagar; adharv Tanwar, Vi a, gyan Mandir Public school, Naraina Pushpagiri flourished from 2nd century BCE to 10th
Vihar, New Delhi
century CE, and was a prominent Buddhist seat of higher
learning in ancient India. Hiuen Tsang mentioned the
three universities of Pushpagiri as Pushpagiri Mahavihara
in his records.
Mahak lodha, iX F, Maharana Mewar Public school, udaipur
Illustrations by: Aishwarya, IX A, Royal Park Matric Hr. Sec. School, Salem; P. Gokul Kannan, IXB, Mani Hr. Sec. School, Coimbatore; A. Aadya, IXA, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s
Public School, Vidyashram, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

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