EStimated: 12,000 Dead, 9 Million Scripts Lost
Nalanda, it's name derived from Sanskrit word for ‘Lotus’
Area: Nalanda, India (Bharat)
Cause of Death: Unknown
Responsible: Bakhtiyar Khilji
Death Count: 12,000
Time Period: 1193
Dharmic Faiths: Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs & Jains
At a time when the world was in Darkness, Nalanda University helped illuminate the entire World!
Nalanda University was first set up at Rajgir in Bihar in 413 AD and provided an ancient, international school of learning across a range of subjects. It was one of the World’s first and best educational institutions, it’s library rumoured to be significantly larger, older and better stocked then the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. The library itself was split over three buildings, each nine stories high and filled with books on a wide range of subjects. Nalanda not only specialised in Buddhist studies, but also a diverse range of subjects from the ‘Art of War’ all the way to ‘Fine Arts’. It’s lecturers came from all over the world, as did its students, it’s alumni includes some of the most famous kings in Indian history. At it’s peak Nalanda housed 10,000 students and 2,000 lecturers. Many attributed the spread of Dharmic and particularly Buddhist ideas across Asia to Nalanda University and also then, the preceding decline of Buddhism, once Nalanda and its infinite knowledge were destroyed beyond repair. Martial arts are said to have come from Bodhi Dharma, an Indian Buddhist Master. The Indian script, Siddam (known as Bonji in Japanese) has been found on Samurai body armour, a language that was annihilated with the destruction of Nalanda, but lived on in Japan. ‘Tao’ and Dao’ appear to be similar or at least share roots with the teachings of Sanatana Dharma.
Nalanda University plaque | Indian Dharmic Genocide Museum
Wide-scale destruction of irreclaimable knowledge
Summary
Nalanda University has actually been destroyed three times according to records; it was only rebuilt twice however. The first time it was destroyed was by Mihirikula, of the Huns, under the reign of Skandagupta (455 - 467 AD). Later the successors to the Skandagupta Empire managed to restore the library and even improved the building by increasing its size. Then came destruction again, this time at the hands of the Gaudas in the 7th century, again Nalanda was rebuilt by Buddhist king Harshavardhana, who ruled from 455 – 467 AD. The third and most devastating attack, one which Nalanda and even Buddhism still haven’t full recovered from came in 1193. This time Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji butchered Nalanda’s estimated 12,000 monks and scholars and left the immense Universities grounds in ruins.
Buddhism Never Fully Recovered!
What would posses the Turkish Leader, Bakhtiyar Khilji to do such a thing? Well the story goes that when desperately sick, the doctors in Khilji’s own court couldn’t heal him. He was then advised to see out help from Rahul Sri Bhadra, the principal of Nalanda University. Khilji was a proud Islamic man and refused to believe in the superior power of the Buddhism, but as his health grew worse he approached Bhadra. Rather than allow Bhadra to perform as per Ayur Veda dictates, Khilji insisted that Bhadra perform the treatment without any medicine. Although given a disability, Bhadra didn’t hesitate and most likely channeled the Lotus Sutra, commanding the miraculous healing powers of Buddhists Sutras. To everyone’s surprise Kihilji was completely healed, but rather than be grateful for the superior Buddhist knowledge from Bhadra, Khilji flew off in a fit of rage. What followed at Nalanda, was a complete massacre of all students and lecturers alongside the burning of 9 million irreplaceable Buddhist manuscripts, rumoured to have taken 6 months to burn. Bloodthirsty Khilji didn’t relent until any of the knowledge, or those that teach it were completely destroyed. I mean how dare these people hold a medical knowledge far superior to what Islam could provide!
Nalanda ruins 2 | Indian Dharmic Genocide Museum
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