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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 29

a long history of Buddhism from the Buddha’s time to an expert in the Yogācāra (Mind-only) Buddhist School.
the 11th century. Even though less than one percent However, since the founding of Nālandā Mahāvihāra,
of Buddhists live in Bangladesh, the People’s Republic thousands of Buddhist literacy works, manuscripts, and
of Bangladesh is trying to protect its minority citizens, scriptures have been produced over the period of six
similar to supporting other minority religions, such as centuries. Textual evidence from Nālandā Mahāvihāra
Hinduism and Christianity. revealed that both Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna lineages
were strongly promoted at the height of Nālandā
To describe the renaissance of Buddhism in Bangladesh, Mahāvihāra. Following the educational structure of
we need to trace back to the time of the Gupta Dynasty Nālandā Mahāvihāra, subsequently, plenty of learning
(240–550 CE) and the Pāla Dynasty (750–1162 CE). institutions were formed throughout India, including
Since King Śrīgupta founded the Gupta Dynasty in 240 medieval Bengal.
CE, Buddhism has been well patronized throughout his
kingdom, including Bengal territory. Śrīgupta started his At the end of the Gupta monarchies, the reign of the
long rule in Bengal and then spread it all over ancient Pālā Dynasty is considered the renaissance of Bengali
India. Prominent historian, R. C. Majumdar, claimed that Buddhist heritage. Since the Pāla Dynasty was founded
the Gupta Dynasty originated in North India. Although by King Gopāla in 750 CE, the growth of Buddhism
the Gupta rulers prior to that promoted Brahmanism reached its peak until the dynasty’s sorrowful end.
(or, Hinduism), they made immense contributions to the Pālā rulers wholeheartedly supported Buddhist
growth of Buddhist teachings, literature, scholasticism, education centers and monasteries and frequently
and artifacts in ancient Bengal and all over their constructed stūpās and Buddha images to memorialize
kingdom. Faxian (337–422CE), a well-known Chinese the Buddha. Under the patronage of the Pālā Kings,
explorer and scholar, traveled in the ancient Bengal famous Buddhist sites were constructed, such as the
region while the Gupta Dynasty was in power. In his Trikutaka Vasu Vihāra at Mahasthangrah (Bogra), the
travel journal, Faxian noted that he collected Buddhist Sōmapura Mahāvihāra at Pahārpur (Naogaon district of
scriptures, artwork, and paintings during his two Rajshahi division), the Mainamoti Shalban Vihāra and
years in Tāmralipi, the name of ancient Bengal. Faxian the Kanakstūpa Vihāra at Comilla, the Pandit Vihāra at
continued by describing his visits to the magnificent Chattogram and the Sitākot Vihāra at Dinajpur. At the
standing Buddha statue in the village of Beharail in the height of its civilization, the Pālā Dynasty revitalized
Rajshahi District and the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī in the Buddhist culture throughout the Bengal Delta.
Bogra District of ancient Bangladesh. Based on Faxian’s
observation, the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition was Currently, Bangladesh retains much of its Buddhist
widely fostered at the height of the Gupta Dynasty. archeological sites and ruins, such as the birthplace
of Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (980-1054 CE), which is
It is worth mentioning that one of the notable located in Vajrayoginī village of Bikrampura (Dhaka);
contributions of the Gupta emperors was to establish Trikutaka Vasu Vihāra at Mahasthangrah (Bogra), the
Nālandā Mahāvihāra. Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang Sōmapura Mahāvihāra at Pahārpur (Naogaon district
recorded that the reputable Nālandā Mahāvihāra of Rajshahi division), the Mainamoti Shalban Vihāra
(University) was established by King Śakrāditya or and the Kanakstūpa Vihāra (Comilla), the Pandit Vihāra
Skandagupta (reign from 455 – 467 CE), a ruler from at Chattogram and the Sitākot Vihāra (Dinajpur). The
the Gupta Dynasty. In addition, Xuanzang was a devoted above-mentioned Buddhist sites are acknowledged as
student under the guidance of Achāyā Śīlabhadra (529 national heritage and have been taken care of by the
– 645 CE), the chancellor of Nālandā University. Achāyā People’s Republic of Bangladesh since its independence
Śīlabhadra was born in Samataṭa, Kalyan village in in 1971.
present-day Camilla, Bangladesh. Due to his immense
knowledge and vast understanding of the Buddhist Are there Buddhist cultural sites in Bangladesh that
notion of consciousness, Śīlabhadra was recognized as you would recommend foreigners to visit in order