Gifts from Invaders

[calypsodc]

Re: Gifts from Invaders

@Ali_Syed

As Far as Taxila university is concerned (northern Pakistan including taxila, swat and peshawer) were part of the gandhara civilization which was a central Asian rule (Kushans), can we include that into a local civilization now? Most of the civilizations that I see in northern Pakistan and India have been central Asian based, therefore the relationship between us and central Asians is quite old. What’s the history of nalanda, and the roads that you have mentioned in your post?

The University of Takshasila was not ruled by a king or established by any one civilization. It was gradually added and enriched over the centuries. Even Emperor Ashoka had a hand in partial establishment and construction and stuff…and so did the Mauryas
Students came to Takshashila from far-off places such as Kashi, Awadh(Kosala) and Magadha, in spite of the long and arduous journey they had to undergo, on account of the excellence of the learned teachers there, all recognized as authorities on their respective subjects. Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. The Vedas and the Eighteen Arts, which included skills such as archery, hunting, and elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its law school, medical school, and school of military science. The Vedas belong to the subcontinent so not sure how you can attach a Central-Asian flavour to this place. Takshashila is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya, the strategist who guided Chandragupta Maurya and assisted in the founding of the Mauryan empire. The Arthashastra ( The knowledge of Economics) of Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself.[SUP]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxila#cite_note-19)[/SUP][SUP][/SUP]The famous ancient healer Charaka also studied here. He also started teaching in the later period.[SUP][/SUP] The ancient grammarian Paanini who codified the rules that would define classical Sanskrit, has also been part of the community at Takshashila. It was also patronized by the Kushans. It was destroyed by invading hordes from Central Asia, the white huns.

The University of Nalanda was established during the reign of a king called Sakraditya in present day Bihar. The complex was built with red bricks and its ruins occupy an area of 14 hectares. At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. [SUP][/SUP] Nalanda was ransacked and destroyed by Turkic Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. The Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle the Tabaqat-I-Nasiri, reported that thousands of monks were burned alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism and plant Islam by the sword[SUP][/SUP] the burning of the library continued for several months and “smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pall over the low hills.”[SUP][/SUP]
So much lost because of barbarians who destroyed centuries of precious knowledge and learned men just so that they could establish religion on unwilling masses.