It is believed that Nalanda University was established in the fifth century by Shakraditya ( Kumar Gupta I) of the Gupta dynasty who was the ruler of Magadha .It has been mentioned in history that Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha stayed here. Evidence has been found that there were several temples at this place during the reign of Emperor Ashoka but Nalanda University came into existence during the Gupta dynasty .
According to known history, it is considered the worlds first residential university, where more than 10,000 teachers and students lived together. Learners and researchers from Japan, Korea , China , Tibet , Indonesia , Turkey , Greece and Persia used to come here .Religion , spirituality , history ,law,architecture, chemistry ,astronomy , Ayurveda , metallurgy and sculpture are a few of the subjects which were taught here. Chinese traveller Hsuan-tsang, who came to India in the seventh century, stayed here for 15 years.
