Description
Indian Institute Of Oriental Studies And Research Glimpses Of Buddhist Bengal by Malaysankar Bhattacharya
Time was when numerous Buddhist shrines dominated the skylines of big cities of Bengal. Even in the smaller towns away from the big cities, set upas and viharas asserted their existence through multifarious activities. The Buddhist institutions of Eastern India like Nalanda, Vikramasila, Raktamrttika, Jagaddala, Somapura, Traikutaka, Odantapuri etc. were among the strongest bastions of the faith till their end came in the wake of the Turko-Afghan invasion in the thirteenth century. The viksus of these viharas studied several subjects like literature grammar, philology, logic, law, Yoga, magic, medicine and so on besides theology, which earned them international reputation. So high was their standard of educational attainment that monks from various countries joined these institutions for higher studies. For centuries visits of foreign monks were reciprocated by Indian monks who played a great role in propagating Buddhism to Central Asia, Far, East and South Asia. According to the accounts left by the foreign travelers, Eastern India as well as Bengal had a fair share in such activities.