Bhakhtyar khalji destroyes odantpuri university

odantpuri

 In ancient magadh and bengal ,a  range of monasteries or mahavihara were constructed gradually with the objective to preserve and spread the teaching of buddha.

Odantapuri was considered as the second oldest university of india ODANTAPURI is also called odantapuri or UDDANTAPURI was a
vihara now in bihar,india.presently it is know as a bihar Sharif in nalanda district.# Acharya sri ganga of vikramshila university had been a student here.

According to tibetan records there were about 12,000 student at odantapuri.According to tibetan source, great five mahavihara were stood during the pala period these mahavihara were vikramshila, nalanda, sompura,odantapuri and jaggadala.Nalanda , vikramshila and odantapuri  have constructed in present day india while other in Bangladesh. During the reign of king Rampala,another thousand monks, belonged to Mahayana and hinayana tradition lived in this monastery.

Establishment: 

A number of monastries grew up during the Pala period in ancient bengal and magadha. odantapuri , in ancient times a celebrated Buddhist centre of learning in india,now identified with morden bihar Sharif in Bihar state.It was founded in (7-8th)century CE by gopala(660-705),the patron who helped to found this university,and established by king Dharmapala of pala dynasty.It remained in existence as a great learning center for Buddhist teachings for almost four centuries.most of the earliest students and teachers of the odantapuri and nalanda were from bengal region.According to tibetan records there were about 12,000 students at a mountain called hiranya prabhat parvat and by the bank of the river panchanan.

Destruction: 

It is said that the Muslim invaders mistook the universities with their high walls for fortresses. They thought that the Buddhist monks were ' shaven headed brahmins' .It fell into decline during the 11th centuary, and it was probably sacked and destroyed , along nalanda, C.1200, when Muslims under iIkhtiyar al-din Muhammad bakhtiyar khalji invaded bihar.sakhya bhadra the last teacher of odantpuri fled to jagaddala vihara in ancient bengal, for his his studies witnessing the ruins of monasteries.