Ancient India had some great centres of learning where people across the world came for learning. As we saw earlier, Taxila was one such university. Nalanda is the name of another ancient university in India. The name is a Sanskrit word that means ‘giver of knowledge’. It was founded in the 5th century by the Gupta emperors. The subjects taught at Nalanda University covered every field of learning.
A long succession of kings from the 5th to the 12th century extended their royal patronage to ensure the progress and prosperity of Nalanda. The university received royal patronage of the great emperor Harshvardhana of Kannauj. Foreign students were also attracted to this great centre of learning. During its heydays, it was a flourishing residential university with over ten thousand students, and fifteen hundred teachers. Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim spent three years at Nalanda. It has been called one of the first great universities in recorded history.
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