Buddhist Learning in South Asia: Education, Religion, and Culture at the Ancient Sri Nalanda Mahavihara

by Pintu Kumar

Overview

This interdisciplinary study is the first book to provide a complete survey of Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra from the perspective of its educational curricula as well as its religious influence. It provides detailed descriptions of the origin, growth, management, and academic and cultural life of Nālandā, with particular attention to its pedagogy, curriculum, teachers, and students. It also presents an alternative interpretation of nationalist and popular notions about Śrī Nālandā as an international university and proves that it was, at its core, a Buddhist monastery and an institution of Buddhist learning focused on the study and promotion of Buddhism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498554930
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	05/07/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	348
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Pintu Kumar is assistant professor in the Department of History at Delhi University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Origin, Growth, and Decay of Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra
Chapter 2: Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra in Travelogues and Archaeology
Chapter 3: Pre-Nālandā/Brāhmaṇical Education in Ancient India: Gurukulas
Chapter 4: Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra: An Institution of Religious Learning
Chapter 5: Śrī Nālandā and Buddhist Learning
Chapter 6: Śrī Nālandā’s Monastic Organization and Religion
Chapter 7: Life, Ritual and Influences
Chapter 8: Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

This monograph on education in the early history of India focuses on Nalanda, which has been eulogized as the first university in the world going back to the pre-Christian era—perhaps a better definition of Nalanda would be the description coined by J. E. Carpenter in 1914, who called it ‘Half Monastery-Half University.’ In this study, Pintu Kumar traces the fascinating journey of a Mahavihara that evolved to become a major center of Buddhist learning. Kumar takes readers through the Brahmanical system of learning in the Gurukula to the various complex subjects—ranging from theology to mathematics—taught in the Buddhist centers of learning, with Nalanda as the focal point. This monograph will enrich scholars working on Buddhism or education—or both—through Pintu Kumar’s meticulous presentation of a forgotten, or partially understood, part of the history of education in India.

Vijaya Ramaswamy

This informative and well-documented book on Nālandā is, up to now, the most comprehensive study of the history of this famous monastic complex, its economic and administrative organization, and its religious and intellectual life. The author bases his analysis on a large body of sources that encompass the textual, historical, archaeological, and architectural data as well as the travel lodges of Chinese and Tibetan pilgrims to Nālandā. This book is an excellent study for anyone interested in Indian Buddhist monasticism and monastic education in general and in Nālandā’s role in the development of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in particular.

Vesna A. Wallace

Pintu Kumar’s Buddhist Learning in South Asia sheds light on various aspects of this ancient monastery. In his book, Kumar addresses the problem whether Nalanda can be treated as a university. Buddhist Learning in South Asia is a comprehensive book that provides rich details about different aspects of the mahavihara. It is a welcome addition to the existing literature, where most books on Nalanda are quite old or lean volumes, covering only specific aspects.

Reading Religion

Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra is the epitome of what Indian culture and civilization offers. In outlining its historical journey, Pintu Kumar has performed a great service. This study will be welcomed by scholars interested in the history of education, religion, and culture.

Deepak Kumar

This voluminous and timely monograph calls into question some flawed assumptions of early Buddhism at the place of its origin. The author moves away from crude modern day categorizations of the historic Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra either as ‘half monastery, half university’ or more megalomaniac International University—formulations which ascribe modern meanings to an ancient institution for advanced training into Buddhist religion and philosophy. Instead, the setting up and functioning of the large monastic institution of learning is examined here in terms of its ideological orientation and physical expansion in relation to the politics of patronage. This richly detailed work is a must read for those misled by ill-informed assertions in the service of modern politics of religion or secularism with a misplaced sense of pride in the past.

Raziuddin Aquil