nalanda-excavation
November 29, 2007
New excavations planned in Nalanda
BY MRITYUNJAY BOSE
MUMBAI: A big revival of the internationally-acclaimed heritage site Nalanda in Bihar is currently underway and new excavations are being planned from February next year, Dr Ravindra Panth, Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda University, said.
“What we know of Nalanda is just 10 per cent, we want to know the rest 90 per cent, and in this quest the new excavation will be carried out by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI),” Dr Panth, who was on a day-long visit to Mumbai to address a lecture organized by the Bamiyan Buddha Foundation, told ‘The Herald’ on Wednesday.
“We are going to revive the entire thing,” he said and pointed out that his department has already started physically mapping Nalanda and neighbouring Rajgir. At the same time, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will also map the area using its remote sensing satellites. “It is a big project,” he said.
Last year, he said, during a satellite mapping of Hampi (in Karnataka), a complex of temples were notices – and archeologists are now working to unravel more details. “We too will be benefited from the satellite mapping,” Dr Panth said.
While the remains of Nalanda – the ancient town is spread over 16 sq kms – we have so far excavated only 1.6 sq kms. “The scope is very wide. We are expecting that during the next excavation we may find some gateways. Nalanda was a great learning centre. And such a huge learning centre ought to have big gateways,” said Dr Panth, who was accompanied by Charles Allen, an acknowledged authority on British, Indian and South Asian history, and in Mumbai lectured on ‘Rediscovering the Buddha’.
In fact, there were references that nearly 200 villages supported this learning centre. “Last year during an excavation, a mud-stupa was found nearly two kms away from the main site,” he said, and pointed out that new evidences that are coming to light are taking the history of Nalanda to the time of Lord Buddha.
The present campus of the Mahavihara is 90 km from the metropolis of Patna , situated on the southern bank of the historical lake, Indrapuskarani. Close to the northern bank lie the ruins of the ancient University of Nalanda .
Some of the aims of the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara is are to develop an institute similar to that of the old Viharas, where teachers and students lived together devoting themselves to studies and higher academic pursuits for the promotion of higher studies and research in Pali language and literature and Buddhism through Tibetan, Sanskrit, Chinese, Mongolian, Japanese and other Asian languages; to maintain a modern and rich library in order to facilitate teaching and research.
(This report was first published in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
New excavations planned in Nalanda
BY MRITYUNJAY BOSE
MUMBAI: A big revival of the internationally-acclaimed heritage site Nalanda in Bihar is currently underway and new excavations are being planned from February next year, Dr Ravindra Panth, Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda University, said.
“What we know of Nalanda is just 10 per cent, we want to know the rest 90 per cent, and in this quest the new excavation will be carried out by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI),” Dr Panth, who was on a day-long visit to Mumbai to address a lecture organized by the Bamiyan Buddha Foundation, told ‘The Herald’ on Wednesday.
“We are going to revive the entire thing,” he said and pointed out that his department has already started physically mapping Nalanda and neighbouring Rajgir. At the same time, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will also map the area using its remote sensing satellites. “It is a big project,” he said.
Last year, he said, during a satellite mapping of Hampi (in Karnataka), a complex of temples were notices – and archeologists are now working to unravel more details. “We too will be benefited from the satellite mapping,” Dr Panth said.
While the remains of Nalanda – the ancient town is spread over 16 sq kms – we have so far excavated only 1.6 sq kms. “The scope is very wide. We are expecting that during the next excavation we may find some gateways. Nalanda was a great learning centre. And such a huge learning centre ought to have big gateways,” said Dr Panth, who was accompanied by Charles Allen, an acknowledged authority on British, Indian and South Asian history, and in Mumbai lectured on ‘Rediscovering the Buddha’.
In fact, there were references that nearly 200 villages supported this learning centre. “Last year during an excavation, a mud-stupa was found nearly two kms away from the main site,” he said, and pointed out that new evidences that are coming to light are taking the history of Nalanda to the time of Lord Buddha.
The present campus of the Mahavihara is 90 km from the metropolis of Patna , situated on the southern bank of the historical lake, Indrapuskarani. Close to the northern bank lie the ruins of the ancient University of Nalanda .
Some of the aims of the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara is are to develop an institute similar to that of the old Viharas, where teachers and students lived together devoting themselves to studies and higher academic pursuits for the promotion of higher studies and research in Pali language and literature and Buddhism through Tibetan, Sanskrit, Chinese, Mongolian, Japanese and other Asian languages; to maintain a modern and rich library in order to facilitate teaching and research.
(This report was first published in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
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