# Odantapuri University

by A.C
Odantapuri (also called Odantapura or Uddandapura) was a prominent Buddhist Mahavira in what is now Bihar Sharif in Bihar, India. It is believed to have been established by the Pala ruler Gopala I in the 8th century. It is considered the second oldest of India's Mahaviharas after Nalanda and was situated in Magadha. Inscriptional evidence also indicates that the Mahavihara was supported by local Buddhist kings like the Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya.
Joseph David Beglar first identified the city of Bihar (Bihar Sharif) with Odantapuri; as the city used to be called Bihar Dandi or Dand Bihar, which is a contraction of Danapur Bihar (derived from "Dandpura Vihara").
A small brass image of the goddess Parvati, bearing a votive inscription on the back that mentioned the name Uddandapura, was also discovered in Bihar Sharif. Based on inscriptions along with local tradition and literary evidence, it is believed that the modern town of Bihar Sharif is built on the ancient site of Odantapuri.
About the location of Odantapuri, S.C.Das depending on the account by Sumpa Khan-po (18th century Tibetan polymath) thought that it was “erected on a hill near the town of modern Behar.” However, dge-’dun-chos-’phel stated: “On the railway line from Patna to Rajgir, there is a station called Bihar-Sharif. If one looks to the west after reaching the station, one will see a low mound." This is said to contain the ruins of Odantapuri Vihara.
This is likely a reference to the locality of Gadh Par in Bihar Sharif which is a huge mound itself. A number of sculptures of the Pala period and some partial brick structures have occasionally been reported from this mound.
The area around Gadh Par (or Garhpar) used to have the remains of an ancient fort surrounded by a wide moat, which was visible till the time Buchanan Hamilton visited it in 1812. According to Hamilton, it was built by a Maga Raja (king of Magadha), and was destroyed by Muhammedans in the 12th century. The fort is believed to have been part of the Odantapuri university.
Over the years many civil and municipal buildings like the Civil Court and Nalanda College were built over it. By the 1960s, the ruins of the fort had almost totally disappeared as the area was occupied by a portion of the town itself. The original campus of Sardar Patel Memorial College was also built in that area, and both the college and the neighbourhood are still called 'Udantpuri' after the name of the ancient university.
However, the location of Odantapuri has not yet been conclusively established.

## History

Gopala, the founder of the Pala dynasty, who ascended the throne of Bengal in 750 CE, founded the monastic university at Odantapuri. According to Bu-ston, however, the Odantapuri monastery was built by Gopala's son and successor, Dharmapala; while according to Taranatha, it was founded by either Gopala or Devapala.
Odantapuri was part of a network of five Mahaviharas in eastern India. The others were Nalanda, Vikramashila, Somapura, and Jagaddala. During the Pala period, Vikramshila was the leading monastery; and the state funding to Vikramshila and Odantapuri far exceeded what was granted to Nalanda. As a result, while Nalanda was struggling for survival around the 11th century CE, Odantapuri had a rival institution thriving under the royal patronage of Palas.
Taranatha mentions a king called Mahāpāla, who he claims was Mahipala's son, who mainly honoured the Srāvakas of Odantapuri, maintaining five hundred monks and fifty teachers. As an annexe to Odantapuri, he built a vihara called Uruvasa, to provide livelihood and accommodation to five hundred "Srāvaka Sendhapas" (Srāvaka Saindhavas or Singhala Srāvakas, who were Sthaviravadins). While he allowed Vikramashila to retain its position, he made Uruvasa a centre of great veneration.
According to Taranatha, during the reign of Ramapala, along with fifty teachers in Odantapuri "permanently lived a thousand monks belonging to both Hinayana and Mahayana. Occasionally even twelve thousand monks congregated there."