Takshashila: The World’s First University – 1600 Years Before Oxford & Harvard

Harvard University, founded in the year 1636. Cambridge University, founded in the year 1209. Oxford University, established in 1096. The University of Bologna, Italy, year 1088. It was established in 1970 or 1972 CE as a center of Islamic learning. But 1600 years before all these universities, there was a university that welcomed students from Babylon, Greece, China, Egypt, and Arabia. A place where education was sacred, not bought or sold. A place called Tangshila. Hello, my name is Priya and welcome to my channel Akara. The oldest university in the world, which was not just a center of education, but a thought, a tradition. Tangshila, which is currently in Pakistan. The exact location is about 50 km west of Rawalpindi. It was a very important center of Vedic and Buddhist learning. It was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. Now, how was Tangshila named Tangshila? According to the Vayu Puran, Tangshila was named after Taksh, the son of King Bharat. And according to the reference of Ramayan, King Bharat named his son Taksh after this city. In English, Takshila means belonging to King Taksh. It is said that King Taksh was the first king of Takshkand and he founded the city of Tangshila. Whether it is Mahabharat or Jatak story, Takshila is mentioned in all of them as an important place of Tangshila. In fact, Chinese travellers like Fa Han and Haiyan San, when they came to India, they mentioned Takshila in their writings. During the time of Ashoka, Takshila was one of the greatest and most splendid cities of the East. And at that time, it was considered the headquarter of Hindu learning. So, in the very beginning, Takshila University was a loosely connected group of buildings where scholars and learned people used to live, work and study. With time, new buildings were added, kings donated, due to which more scholars started migrating here. And like this, slowly a big campus was developed, which became a celebrated seat of learning of the ancient world. Just for clarification, when we talk about Takshila, we cannot alienate Takshila as a city and Takshila as a university. Because Takshila city, its location, its prosperity, was a very important reason that an unmatched education centre was built there. On the other hand, Takshila University also had a very big contribution to make this city its glory. As I will tell you further, these points need to be clarified. So, first we will understand the importance of the location of Takshila. In ancient times, the prosperity of Takshila city was due to its location. Because it was a junction of three major trade routes. One route was from Eastern India, which the Greek writer Megasthenes called the Royal Highway. The second route was from Western Asia. And the third route was from Kashmir and Central Asia. The mention of Takshila city was also made by a Greek historian. For example, Flavius Arian called Takshila a big and rich city. He also mentioned that it was the most populous city between Indus and Hydrappus, which is today's Jhelum. Greek geographer Strabo has also mentioned it. He called it crowded but very fertile. Because of these trade routes, soil fertility and in general prosperity, Takshila became a lucrative option for then the cream of the society. Like today's metro cities attract the best minds of the country. Now this accessibility and exposure to the world due to trade was the reason for foreign exchange in Takshila University. When these trade routes stopped being important, the importance of the city also decreased. And finally, in the 5th century CE, the Huns destroyed it. What does a university mean to us today? Lecture halls, degrees and fixed courses. Takshila was nothing like that. It was a very unconventional learning center. If we look at it from today's modern parameters, then people may not even consider it a university. Reason being that the teachers there were not official members of any particular college. And there were no purpose-built lecture halls and residential quarters either. Which is in contrast to universities that were built after Takshila, like Nalanda University. But we should not confuse it with a western concept university. Because such a university is a very late development. In this early period, the university was also an organized group of independent teachers. This was the same system in the early days of Oxford and Cambridge. In contrast to Nalanda, which today wants to be the precursor of a modern university, Takshila was a center of advanced learning and scholarly exchange instead of a formalized educational institution. Here, the focus was more on mentorship and individualized study, which was completely different from the standard curriculum and bureaucratic structure of contemporary universities. Despite this difference, the legacy of Takshila's intellectual exploration and cultural exchange is enduring and influential. This school was built along with many monasteries, which did not have large dormitories or lecture halls. Here, religious instructions were given on an individualistic basis. The purpose of its establishment was purely for imparting knowledge and education. It wasn't a place to earn money nor to run the business, like universities today. Being an informal learning center, the teachers of Takshila University had some unique autonomous authorities which made it different from other universities. The teachers of this university had complete freedom to select their students. The conditions were that the students should be eager and excited to learn. The admission process was very rigorous. Every 10 students had only 2 or 3 selections. The teachers had the authority to design the curriculum of their respective subjects for their students. Students were not given permission to move to the next unit until they master the current unit. The curriculum was considered complete when the teachers were satisfied with the student's achievements. Sanskrit was the main language of instruction here. The average higher education duration was 8 years. But this could be increased or reduced at the discretion of the teachers, depending on the progress of the student. Students used to learn from their respective subjects, debates and discussion mediums. This teaching method used to make Takshila a world-class learning center of ancient times. This university is a very rare example of assimilation of both the teacher and the obedient student. The senior learned students here also assisted their teachers in their teaching. In contrast to Nalanda, degrees were not awarded here. Knowledge and wisdom were considered the ultimate divinity and award, which was not measured by any assessment. I told you, this university was special. Everything was done here for a single purpose, which should be the most important reason for the existence of every university. The propagation of knowledge. But sadly, it's not true with the current universities. Everything here was student and subject-centric, and dynamic as well. Teachers used to decide the curriculum according to the student and subject, and the teaching technique was also based on that. Not like today, that whatever my parents studied, I studied the same after 40 years, and maybe the next generation will also study the same. Maybe not in a copy pen, but in an iPad. This is not education. This is an assembly line process. Manufacturing the brains that learn only to follow and not to pick. Think about it. How many times have you had a chance to discuss and debate with your professors and peers? We listen to lectures from professors, and all the peers remember the same answers to the same questions and write them down. In this current process, where do you get a chance to think for yourself? Anyway, let's talk about Dakshina. At its peak, there were more than 10,500 students at Dakshina University. And they were from across the world. Applicants or students from Babylonia, Greece, Arabia, China, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, meaning from Turkey. Approximately 2,000 scholar-teachers are appointed here. More than 64 subjects are taught here. In these subjects, like science, mathematics, medicine, politics, philosophy, surgery, grammar, agriculture, music, and religion. But life-skill subjects like the art of discovering hidden treasure, decrypting encrypted messages, hunting, and elephant hole were also taught. Apart from these, there were three special centres of learning here. Like a law school, which offered studies for a law degree. A medicine school, which offered studies for a medical degree. And a military science school, which focused on the principles of warfare. Students got admission at the age of 16, when they had completed their primary education from their local institution. Like other universities, It is clear that this was a centre for higher learning. It was divided into three buildings. Ratnasagar, Ratnodevi, and Ratnayanjar. Food, accommodation, and education were free. Because wealthy people, aristocrats, and businessmen funded the society. So, obviously, there was no free structure here. Students, universities, and their gurus helped in their daily work and duties. This was due to the curriculum and facilities of the Takshila University. But the actual identity of any university is based on the state of the university. And the influence of the education of the university on the society. One of the most famous halems in the history of Takshila is Chanakya. Kautilya, Vishnubhuk, whichever name you know now. He wrote the Arthashastra. This is an ancient Sanskrit scripture. It talks about political duties, statecraft, economic policies, intelligence system, administration, and military strategy. Not only this, Chanakya guided Chandragupta Maurya to build the Mauryan Empire, which we all know was one of the greatest empires in Indian history. Chanakya was also the Prime Minister of the Mauryan Empire. Vishnu Sharma, who wrote Panchatantra, was also a student of Takshila University. And later, he was also a teacher. Panchatantra teaches political science, strategy, and moral values through animal tables. Jivak, who is considered a patron and inspiration of traditional medicine in India and Thailand. He was also an halem of Takshila. He was known for his innovation like surgeries of volvulus and hydrocephalus. He successfully treated King Bimbisara and became a royal physician. But he was also a supporter of Buddhism. And he also established Jivamravan Monastery. And then there is Panini, ancient Sanskrit grammarian and scholar. Link would be somewhere here. It is considered as the pinnacle of grammatical tradition that aimed to preserve the Vedic language. Panini's work had a huge impact on the evaluation of Sanskrit language. Since Takshila's alum base was so strong and it was a prominent center of education, its influence was also spread far and wide. Apart from Vedic learning, it was also a major center of Buddhist learning. It has been mentioned many times in ancient Buddhist literature. Takshila is considered as the birthplace of Mahayana Buddhism, which is the largest Buddhist branch in the world today. It is believed that Mahayana Buddhism was established between 150 BC and 100 BC in India. For those who don't know, let me tell you what Mahayana is. It is a sect that believes in the deity of Buddha and worships Bodhisattvas and Buddha's roots. Mahayana Buddhism believes that Buddha is the incarnation of God and that every human can become Buddha. These people believe in complex rituals and ceremonies and write their scriptures in Sanskrit. Many great philosophers from Takshila went to other countries to spread the knowledge. So in King College London and LMU Munich's lecture, it has been mentioned that in the world of philosophy, India has not yet received its due credit. There is a very famous story around India's philosophical migration. So in the year 326 BC, in his mission to conquer the world, Alexander the Great came to India. Alexander was very intrigued by his way of life. And decided to lead his life of tapasvi in the forest. And he got compelled to contemplate the true meaning of life. As his teacher. The rise of Takshila was enlightening. Including Persians, Greeks, Carpathians, Shakas, Kushnas. In 326 BC, But around 370 BC, These people were of nomadic Iranian and Scythian origin. They migrated from Central Asia and came to the northwestern Indian subcontinent. And finally around the 30th century, the Kushan Empire conquered it. Some parts of it were destroyed. A new city was created which became the center of Buddhist learning. But the biggest devastation is yet to come. Which the Huns did. White Huns and Alcon Huns attacked Gandhar and Punjab around 470 BC. Which caused a lot of damage to Takshila's famous Buddhist monasteries and stupas. After this destruction, Takshila could never regain its glory. When Chinese traveler Hun Sen came to Takshila between 603-664 BC, So he noted that it was no longer the vibrant learning hub that it once was. This part of history serves as a reminder that the world's biggest establishment was destroyed by uncertainty and circumstances. The story of Takshila University is not just one of the rise and fall. But it is a story of a place that was once the epicenter of knowledge. And even though thousands of years later, there are only a few physical ruins of it. But its intellectual legacy was not destroyed by war, invasion or oppression. It is still one of the biggest examples of holistic education and unparalleled knowledge. This was the story of Takshila University. If you liked this video, then don't forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching.