| Temples & Legends Of Bihar |
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| Temples & Legends
Of India |
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NALANDA |
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| A large number
of ancient Buddhist establishments, stupas, chaityas, temples and monastery sites have
been excavated and they show that this was one of the most important Buddhist centres of
worship and culture.Regarding the historicity of Nalanda, we read in Jaina texts that
Mahavira Vardhamana spent as many as fourteen rainy seasons in Nalanda. Pali Buddhist
literature, too, has ample references to Nalanda, which used to be visited by Lord Buddha.
During the days of Mahavira and Buddha, Nalanda was apparently a very prosperous temple
city, a great place of pilgrimage and the site of a celebrated university.It is said that
Asoka gave offerings to the chaitya of Sariputra at Nalanda and erected a temple there.
Tara- nath mentions this and also that Nagarjuna, the famous Mahayana philosopher of the
second century A.D., studied at Nalanda. Nagarjuna later became the high-priest there. |
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