Why did Khilji kill thousands of monks and why did he put the entire university on fire. Was this result of some misunderstanding or some accident? What do the accounts of the eyewitnesses of this massacre tell us? Do they paint some different motive for the bloodshed and burning of millions of books?
Bakhtiyar Khilji arrived at Nalanda University with only two hundred horsemen. The six-storey Mahavihara looked like a huge fort without any beginning or end. He killed thousands of monks and burnt the nine-storey library of the University. At any given time more than 1500 Buddhist teachers and 10000 students used to live in this university. They were caught completely unaware of the coming attack. The next several hours were some of the most shameful hours in the long history of India. Every single teacher and student was killed in one of the most horrible massacres that the country has ever seen.
The massacre was so complete that when he asked his soldiers to bring someone who could explain the content of the books, the soldiers could not find a single person alive. They discovered that the entire city and hundreds of buildings spread in several kilometres was not a fort but a university which the locals called Behar.
He looted the Mahavihara and obtained a great quantity of plunder.
Before leaving the monastery Khalji ordered the library and university to be put on fire. And with that, all the knowledge that was stored in those books was burnt to ashes along with the bodies of the dead monks. The millions of books of the library kept on burning for more than three months.
But why did Khalji kill thousands of monks and why did he put the entire university on fire. Was this result of some misunderstanding or some accident?
What do the accounts of the eyewitnesses of this massacre tell us? Do they paint some different motive for the bloodshed and burning of millions of books? Let’s explore one of the most shameful events in the history of mankind…

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
2:02 - Eyewitness Accounts
5:01 - History and Significance of Nalanda University
8:28 - Destruction by Bakhtiyar Khilji
9:41- Impact on Buddhism


#Nalanda #Khilji #University



Credits :
File:Timurid Siege of Multan.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timurid_Siege_of_M…
Attribution: Mydust, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Konark palm leaf manuscript.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Konark_palm_leaf_m…
Attribution: Amshpatten, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Sanskrit written on the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanskrit_written_o…
Attribution: Matthew T Rader, matthewtrader.comv/, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Ancient Monasteries Bihar Sharif.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Monasterie…
Attribution: Odantapuribs, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File: File:Front view of Vikramshila Monastery.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Front_view_of_Vikr…
Attribution: Deepak Kumar Sharma, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddhaghosa_with_t…
Attribution: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Painting of Battle of Tarain - Rajput States.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Painting_of_Battle…
Attribution: Amit20081980, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:1572-The Wounding of Khan Kilan by Rajputs-Akbarnama.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1572-The_Wounding_…
Attribution: Victoria and Albert Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Maharaja Chhatrasal.jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maharaja_Chhatrasa…
Attribution: SPVCA, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
File:Nalanda University India - panoramio (1).jpg
Page URL: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nalanda_University…
Attribution: Hiroki Ogawa, CC BY 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons