Ancient Indian Libraries: A study

Sumanapal Bhikkhu

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That the art of writing was not altogether unknown in pre-historic India. As early as during 2000 B.C it is proved beyond doubt by the discoveries of inscribed tablets and seals made at Harappa in Punjab, at Mohenjodaro in Sind and at Nal in Baluchistan. Researchers also claim form recent discoveries in Hyderabad in the Deccan that even as early as 3000 B.C large number of private and public libraries existed.

The Vedic preceptors wanted that their religious literature should be handed down to their pupils by means of oral instruction as they were reluctant to reduce their knowledge to writing. Thus a very special feature of the Vedic literature is that the knowledge inherent in it was preserved in the form of memory libraries. However, some steps were adopted in order to preserve the purity of the Vedas. It was imperative for the pupil to learn at least five kinds of recitations namely the svarapatha, prada patha, jatapatha, kramapatha and ghanapatha.

According to recent studies “the Mahabharata’ war took place during about 1500 B.C. It gave rise to numerous war songs to be recited in public assemblies and sacrificial congregation and after being handed down from the preceptor to his disciple they ultimately got written nearly one thousand years later.

Even the Buddha who taught his disciples all his life did not reduce his teaching to writing. After his demise his disciples arranged a meeting in order to collect his sermons. His sermons were divided into three baskets or Tripitaka, which is in the form of three libraries formally known as Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma. In all probability the teachings of the Buddha were not given a written form as the monks believed that it was a sacrilege. In Mahabharata there is a reference to a monk who was sent out to the neighbouring fraternity with the instruction to memorize the Patimokkha entirely or at least partly. In Mahavagga we meet a monk who knew some important suttanta and was anxious that he might forget them. As a result he requested the Sangha to memorize them from him.

So the Buddhist also maintained the tradition established by the Vedic sages and did not reduce the teachings of the great teacher to writing. Though we find minute description of the monasteries and the houses; any mention of any writing material was conspicuously absent. The Ceylonese tradition in this context could be cited

 The text of the three Pitakas and the commentary two there on,

The wise bhikkhus of former time had handed down by word of mouth.

The them bhikkhus perceiving how all beings do delay.

Meeting together wrote them in books that the Dhamma might last long.

The Jains too were initially reluctant to reduce the teachings of scholars knew their sacred text by heart but gradually it was found that only the scholar Devardhigani knew them by heart. A delegation was sent to him and the whole corpus of the Jaina sacred teachings were written from after a lapse of 980 Years followings the demise of Mahavihara. So for a very long period of time the sacred literature of the Jainas was preserved orally.

We cannot say that during the time of the Buddha and the Mahavihara the art of writing was unknown as inscription much earlier than their times have been discovered. The Hindus were unwilling to reduce their sacred texts to writing and so were the Buddhists and the Jainas.

The existence of public and private libraries is also proved from other resources also Kautilya in his famous. Arthasastra mentions a large number of earlier authorities which proves that he had a number of books on economics and Hindus polity in his possession.

The great intellectual culture of Pataliputra was the meeting place of great library giants namely Varsa, Upavarsa, Panini, Pingala, Vyadi, Vararuchi, and Patanjali. This presupposes that Pataliputra had some extensive libraries.

The Sunga kings patronized Brahmanical education and knowledge and during their rule great Sanskrit works such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Manusmriti and the Puranas were remodeled. It proves that they had a very well equipped library in their possession. Besides the great grammarian Patanjali who rose to fame during the reign of Pusyamitra Sunga wrote his famous grammatical work Mahabhasya which contained all the grammatical notions and views of his great predecessor. This fact also proves beyond doubt the existence of a special library in his possession.

After close contact established between China and Indian Buddhists, the era of translation of Buddhist books and manuscripts began and this was inspired by the patronage of the Chinese rulers. This continued for more than one thousand years and the efforts resulted in the formation of a splendid library of Chinese Tripitaka.

A Buddhist council was held during the reign of Kanishka where extensive commentary on the Tripitaka was written by monks and was buried under the Asokan stupa. The commentary is known as Vibhasa which lent its name to the famous Buddhist philosophical school Vaibhasika.

We also find a grand description of a library in “Pauskara Samhita” In this library the manuscripts were carefully covered in cloth, tied by strings and were kept in iron cupboards. The librarian himself imparted education to pupils.

Nalanda University:  Nalanda is the name of an ancient university in Bihar, India. The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist centre of learning from CE 427 to 1197. It has been called one of the first great universities in recorded history. According to historians, Nalanda flourished between CE 427 and 1197, mainly due to patronage from Buddhist emperors like Harsha as well as emperors from the Pandyan Empire and the Pala Empire. At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as China, Greece and Persia. According to the Kevatta sutta, in the Buddha’s time Nalanda was already an influential and prosperous town, thickly populated, though it was not until later that it became of learning for which it afterward became famous. Mahavira is several times mentioned as staying at Nalanda, which was evidently a centre of activity of the Jains Historical studies indicate that the University of Nalanda was established CE 450under the patronage of the Gupta emperors , notably Kumaragupta.    

The famous Nalanda University had extensive libraries. So did other monasteries in Bihar like Odantapuri and Vikramasila. The invaders under Bakhtiyar Khilji found the libraries and after killing all the monks felt curious as to the contents of the books. We also find description of libraries in many texts. It is evident from the large number of texts that Yijing carried back with him after his 10-year residence at Nalanda, that the Mahavihara must have featured a well-equipped library. Traditional Tibetan sources mention the existence of a great library at Nalanda named Dharmagunga (Piety Mart) which comprised three large multi-storeyed buildings, the Ratnasagara (Ocean of Jewels), the Ratnadadhi (Sea of Jewels), and the Ratnaranjaka (Jewel-adorned). Ratnadadhi was nine storeys’s high and housed the most sacred manuscripts including the Prajnaparamita Sutra and the Guhyasamaja. The universities of the contemporary period must have a well equipped library. Special mention should be made of the libraries in the universities of Nalanda, Vikramsila and Odantapuri.

However no information regarding them could be elicited. The books were but on fire and burnt. The library of the other libraries also shared the same fate.

During the heyday of Nalanda University Tibetan scholars enthusiastically calculated Sanskrit MSS and translated them to Tibetan. At the same time Indian scholars were also invited in Tibet to compose original works, as well as to translate texts. The translations of Buddhist books known as Kangyur and Tangyur are still presented in Tibetan translations though many of their Sanskrit originals are lost in India today.

In this context we should also mention the magnificent libraries built by the Jainas in different parts of Gujrat during the medieval period. Patna was the centre of such literary activities where intellectuals of the day assembled. The benevolent King Kumarapala patronized their activities Kumarapala established twenty one manuscript libraries known as the bhandaras. Vasupala the minister of Viradhabala built three big bhandaras and is reported to have spent eighteen corer rupees in the process. Rich and pious Jain householder’s donated an enormous amount for collecting, copying and producing manuscripts and organizing libraries. Their purpose was to acquire merits for themselves and their deceased friends.

The system of education and acquiring knowledge got a rude shock by the invasions of Muhammadan conquerors who tried to remove all traces of the “Kabir” religion and civilization found its shelter in the sleepy hills of the Himalayas and in the arid desert of Rajputana.  

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Taxila university: Legend has it that Takṣa, an ancient king who ruled a kingdom called Takṣa Khanda the modern (Tashkent) founded the city of Takṣaśilā. However Sanskrit Takṣaśilā, appears to contain the suffix śilā, “stone” with the prefix Takṣa, alluding to Takṣa, the son of Bharata and Mandavi, as related in the Ramayana. In the Mahābhārata, the Kuru heir Parikṣit was enthroned at Takṣaśilā. According to tradition the Mahabharata was first recited at Takṣaśilā by Vaishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa at the behest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the sarpa satra yajna, “Snake Sacrifice ceremony” of Parikṣit’s son Janamejaya. According to one theory propounded by Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, Takṣaśilā is related to Takṣaka, “carpenter” and is an alternative name for the Nāgas of ancient India. Taxila lies in the northwest of Rawalpindi. It was the capital of the Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara and a centre of learning. It came under Persian rule and in BC 326 was surrendered to Alexander the great. Ruled by a succession of conquerors, including Bactrians and Scythians, the city became an important Buddhist centre under King Ashoka. The apostle Thomas reputedly visited Taxila in the 1st century AD. Taxila is known from references in Indian and Greco-Roman literary sources and from the accounts of two Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, Fa-hein and Xuang-zang. The city was named after Taksha the son of Bharata its first ruler.  Buddhist literature, especially the Jataka, mentions it as the capital of the kingdom of Gandhara and as a great centre of learning. Greek historians accompanying the Macedonian conqueror described Taxila as “wealthy, prosperous, and well governed.” Taxila was an early centre of learning dating back to at least the 5th century BC. Taxila is considered a place of religious and historical sanctity by the Hindus and the Buddhists. Taxila was the seat of Vedic learning. Taxshila is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya. The famous treatise Arthashastra (Sanskrit for the knowledge of Economics) by Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautilya), the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta and the Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila. 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 institution is very significance in Buddhist tradition since its believed that the Mahayana sect of Buddhism took shape there. Some scholars date Takshashila’s existence back to the 6th century BCE. It became a noted centre of learning at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from around the old world until the destruction of the city in the 5th century CE. Takshashila is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya. The famous treatise Arthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) by Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself.

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