Flourishing of Nalanda Monastery

Name: Flourishing of Nalanda Monastery
Start: 501
End: 600

Type Event Region Asia Time 501–600

In the 6th century, Nalanda continued as the Indian subcontinent's foremost Buddhist institution of higher learning, a core node of scholarly and rel…

Timeline

501–550Nalanda · Bihar stateThe monastic complex continued to expand, with several thousand monks, lecture halls, meditation halls, and library facilities, forming strict systems of admission, examination, and lineage transmission, becoming a center of Mahayana Buddhist research.
550–600Nalanda · Bihar stateScholar-monks from Tibet, Nepal, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia gathered at Nalanda, translating Buddhist scriptures and debating doctrine; the monastery's renown spread far, laying the scholarly foundation for the visits of great pilgrims such as Xuanzang in the 7th century.

Sources

Xuanzang, Records of the Western Regions (大唐西域记) — 玄奘
Sukumar Dutt, Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India — Sukumar Dutt (1962)