India, May 2 -- Why did you write a book on Nalanda Mahavihara? Why did this ancient centre of learning excite your curiosity?

I was born and raised in the Nalanda district of Bihar. Yet, much about Nalanda was a mystery to me. I wanted to understand why Nalanda became such a celebrated Buddhist monastery-university, what was taught there, who taught there and what contributions it made. I wanted to know whether it was destroyed suddenly or if the decline took place over a period of time. These questions came to my mind whenever I visited the ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara. I did not find answers to these questions easily from one source. To satisfy my curiosity, I began researching various resources available. During this process, I found ...