Which of the following is not the famous centre for Buddhist Learning in Ancient India ?
Nagpur
Nagpur was not an ancient centre of Buddhist learning — option 1.
| Centre | Where | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Nalanda | Bihar | Founded under Kumaragupta I in the fifth century; the greatest of them all, with thousands of students and teachers, described by Xuanzang and Yijing; a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
| Vikramshila | Bhagalpur district, Bihar | Founded by Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty in the late eighth century; famous for tantric studies; Atisa Dipankara, who carried Buddhism to Tibet, was its head |
| Valabhi | Saurashtra, Gujarat | Capital of the Maitrakas; a great centre of Hinayana learning, and the rival of Nalanda, whose Mahayana teaching it balanced |
| Odantapuri, Somapura, Jagaddala, Taxila | Bihar, Bengal, Punjab | The other well-known seats of learning |
Why Nagpur is offered. It has a genuine Buddhist association, but a modern one: it was at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, on 14 October 1956, that Dr B. R. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with several lakh followers, in the event that began the Navayana or neo-Buddhist movement. That association is twentieth-century, not ancient, and the question turns on the distinction.
What happened to the ancient centres. Nalanda and Vikramshila were sacked by Bakhtiyar Khalji around 1200, and with the loss of their libraries and teachers organised Buddhist scholarship in India came to an end; the tradition survived through the texts and teachers who had already reached Tibet. Nalanda has since been revived as a modern university, established by Act of Parliament in 2010 and opened at Rajgir.
Note the Bihar connection : three of the greatest of these — Nalanda, Vikramshila and Odantapuri — were all in Bihar, which is why they recur so often in this examination.
Hence, the answer is Nagpur.
Important Questions from Buddhism
Which of the following statement is correct?
I. Vardhaman Mahavira was the 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism.
II. Buddha taught that karma has no effect on our lives.
What was the date of the Third Buddhist Council?
At which of the following places did Lord Buddha attain Mahaparinirvana?
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the code given below:
List - I
(Events in Buddha's Life)
List - II
(Symbolic representation)
(a)
Birth
(i)
Bodhi Tree
(b)
Enlightenment
(ii)
Chakra
(c)
First sermon
(iii)
Bull
(d)
Demise
(iv)
Stupa
In Indian philosophy; who was the Buddhist monk, who is commonly considered the founder of Chan Buddhism in China - later known as Zen in Japan?
