বখতিয়ার খলজির ধ্বস্ত মহাবিহার – নালন্দা না ওদন্তপুরী?

“A Khalji officer, Bakhtiyar Khalji, whose uncle had fought the battle of Tarain, had been appointed in charge of some of the areas beyond Banaras. He had taken advantage of this to make frequent raids into Bihar, which was at that time in the nature of a no-man’s land. During these raids, he had attacked and destroyed some of the famous Buddhist monasteries o Bihar, Nalanda and Vikramasila, which had no protector left.”

“It is said by the credible persons that he went to the gate of the fort of Behār with only two hundred horses, and began the war by taking the enemy unawares… Muhammad Bakhtiyār with great vigour and audacity rushed in at the gate of the fort and gained possession of the place. Most of the inhabitants of the place were Brāhmans with shaven heads. They were put to death. Large numbers of books were found there and when the Muhammadans saw them, they called for some persons to explain their contents, but all the men had been killed. It was discovered that the whole fort and city was a place of study (madrasa). In the Hindī language the word Behār (vihār) means a college.”

“Then came the Turuṣka king called the Moon to the region of Antarvedi in-between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā. Some of the monks acted as the messengers for this king. As a result, the petty Turuṣka rulers of Bhaṃgala and other places united, ran over whole of Magadha and massacred many ordained monks in Odantapurī. They destroyed this and also Vikramaśīla. The Persians at last built a fort on the ruins of the Odanta- vihāra.”

“Needless to say, the description of the so called fort of Bihar refers to the capture and destruction of a Buddhist monastery. Now this has been identified with the monastery of Odanatapuri, founded by Rāmapāla, on the strength of remarks of Taranath…It would thus appear that there is no direct evidence to Nālandā was destroyed by the Mohammedans in the year A.D. 1199. We, however, think that the description of the loot and ravage of the monastery referred to by the Moslem chronicler as well apply to Nālandā. The reasons for this suggestion are as under: 1. Nālandā like Vikramaśilā and Odanatapuri, had, as we learn from Hiuen Tsiang, a big surrounding wall, which would give it the appearance of a fortress. 2. It had also a rich library containing countless books. 3. Moreover, its antiquity and huge establishment were sufficient reasons for the invader to regard it as very prosperous and therefore a good bait for attack. Likewise, we would suggest the year A.D. 1205-1206, as the probable date of the Vihāra’s destruction…Kutubuddin thus seems to have had the Sultanate in or about 1205 A.D.; and as Bakhtiyar Khilji was honoured by Kutubuddin as A Sultan, the invasion, therefore, of Bihar approximately took place in or about 1205 or 1206 A.D. Hence, Nālandā was destroyed by the Mohammedans in or about 1205 A.D…The Moslem invasion therefore appears to be the immediate cause of the destruction of Nālandā.”

“Within a short time Bakhtiyār amassed enough fortune from his plunders to build up a large force. Finding these districts are utterly prostrate and incapable of any resistance, he was emboldened to push as far as the Vihāra of Odantapurī (Bihār) and, obtaining permission from Aibak, made a final attack upon that town. There were no soldiers to defend it. But some feeble resistance was offered by the helpless shaven headed Śramaṇas (Buddhist monks), who were taken by Bakhtiyār to be Brahmin priests and slaughtered.”