Bihar Board Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning  Questions and Answers

Bihar Board Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning  Questions and Answers

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

A. Work in small groups and discuss these questions Orally :

Question 1.
Who was Dr. Rajendra Prasad ?
Answer:
He was the first President of the Republic of India.

Question 2.

When and where was he born ?
Answer:
He was born in 1884 in Zeradei, Bihar.

Question 3.
What is his contribution to the nation ?
Answer:
He had a moderating influence on political thinking. It was through his efforts that Magadh Research Institute was set up.

Where is Nalanda ? What was it famous for in the past ?
Answer:
Nalanda is in Bihar. It was famous for its University in the past.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

B. 1. Answer the following questions briefly :

Question 1.
Why had people gathered in Nalanda ?
Answer:
People had gathered in Nalanda because Dr. Rajendra Prasad was going to lay the foundation stone of Magach Research Institute there to revive the ancient glory of Nalanda.

Question 2.
What does Nalanda symbolise ?
Answer:
Nalanda is the symbol of the most glorious period of India’s history.

 Question 3.

With which great religious teacher is Nalanda associated ?
Answer:
Nalanda is associated with the great religious teacher, Lord Buddha.

Question 4.
When did it emerge as a flourishing University ?
Answer:
Nalanda emerged as a flourishing University sometime in the Gupta Age.

How long did Lord Mahavira live in Nalanda ?
Answer:
Lord Mahavira lived for fourteen years in Nalanda.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 6.
Who was Lepa ? What did he do with Lord Buddha ?
Answer:
Lepa was a rich citizen of Nalanda. He welcomed Lord Buddha with his entire wealth and possessions, and became his disciple.

Who was Fa-Hien ? When did he visit Nalanda ?
Answer:
Fa-Hien was a Chinese pilgrim. He visited Nalanda in the 4th century AD.

Question 8.
When did Hieun T’sang visit India ? Why did he refer to Jataka story ?
Answer:
Hieun T’sang visited India in the seventh century AD during the reign of emperor Harshavardhan.He refers to Jatak story to say that the name Nalanda was derived from Na- alam-da, the peace of mind which Lord Buddha could not achieve in his previous births.

Question 9.
How was Nalanda University born ?
Answer:
Nalanda University was bom with the help of charity and public donations. It was founded with an endowment created by 500 traders who purchased the land and offered it to Lord Buddha.

Question 10.
How many Viharas did Nalanda have ?
Answer:
Nalanda has six large Viharas.

Question 11.
What arrangements were made to meet the recurring expenditure of the University ?
Answer:
The revenue of 100 villages was set apart to meet the recurring expenditure of the university. Question 12.
Name the states that contributed to the maintenance of the Nalanda University.
Answer:
Three states – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal contributed to the maintenance of the Nalanda University.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

B. 2. Answer the following questions briefly :

Question 1.
How many students and teachers were at Nalanda University when Hieun T’sang visited ?
Answer:
There are 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers.

Question 2.
How was the pupil-teacher ratio significant ?
Answer:
This ratio was significant because teachers could pay individual attention to the education and training of their students.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 3.
Name the countries from where the scholars came to study and collect Buddhist literature.
Answer:
Scholars came from China, Korea, Tibet, Turkistan and Mongolia to study and collect Buddhist literature.

Question 4.
What kind of library did Nalanda possess ?
Answer:
Nalanda had the biggest library in Asia.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 5.
When was it destroyed ?
Answer:
It was destroyed in the 12th century.

Question 6.
What kind of library is there in your school/college ?
Answer:
Our school library has textbooks, reference books, literary and scientific books:

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 7.
How did several manuscripts survive ?
Answer:
The citizens had ensured the preservation of many rare manuscripts by getting their copies. Question 8.
How many lectures were delivered daily at Nalanda ?
Answer:
One hundred lectures were delivered daily at Nalanda.

Question 9.
What was so unique about the academic attitude at Nalanda ? How does it compare with the academic attitude at your school/college ?
Answer:
The academic attitude at Nalanda was free from any prejudice whatsoever. It was exposed to the religion and philosophy of all mankind.

Question 10.
How many subjects were made compulsory ?
Answer:
Five subjects – grammar, logic, medical science, handicrafts and religious and philosophy were made compulsory.

Question 11.
What appeal does Dr. Rajendra Prasad make to the people ?
Answer:
Dr. Rajendra Prasad appealed to the people to revive the educational system of a bygone era, and re-establish Nalanda as a centre of art, literature, philosophy, religion and science.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

C. 1. Long Answer Questions :

Question 1.
Describe, after Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the academic activities at Nalanda. Assess the activities at your school/college in the light of the academic activities at Nalanda.
Answer:
According to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Nalanda was a centre of higher education. There were about 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers.  Every student could get an individual attention. There were five compulsory subjects. The subjects were useful for all-round development of the students and made them capable to live healthily and usefully. Besides these languages we study mathematics, science, social studies, economics, disaster management and computer. We are more worried about passing our examinations than acquiring knowledge.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 2.
‘The syllabus of Nalanda University was drawn with great wisdom,’ Explain.
Answer:
The syllabus of Nalanda University was drawn to serve two purposes. It aimed at the all-round development of a student’s personality as well as to make him financially independent and useful member of society.Students were taught grammar which helped them to master the language. They were taught logic which helped them to understand and judge everything rationally. They were taught medical science. It helped them to live physically healthy and help others to live healthily. They were also taught a handicraft so that they could earn a living usefully and respectably. They were also taught religion and philosophy of their choice. This helped them to develop mentally and spiritually.

Question 3.
Why were the students of Nalanda University increasingly successful in their daily life ? How did the syllabus of Nalanda University help its students ? Do you find your syllabus helpful to you ? Evaluate your own syllabus in the light of the syllabus of Nalanda University.
Answer:
The root cause of the gradual increasingly success of the students of Nalanda University in their daily life were (i) the skilful preparation of the syllabus, and (ii) frequent interaction and individual care of the teachers on students. The syllabus of Nalanda University had been prepared keeping in view the practical problems which come on the way of success. The teachers used to guide the students properly. They watched their day to day activities and discipline. Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 4.
What do the copper plates tell about the international relation maintained by Nalanda ? Describe in details.
Answer:
Many copper plates have been found at Nalanda in the course of archeological excavations. A few of them are the records of the visit of Maharaja Dharampal Deva and Devapal Deva of Bengal as the inscription over them show.  One of the the copper plates shows the international relationship maintained by Nalanda.  the inscription of his copper plate shows Balputra, the Emperor of Java, being deeply impressed by the achievement of Nalanda, had a large Vihar constructed here to give visible expression of his devotion to Lord Buddha.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

Question 5.
How did the scholars of Nalanda carry the torch of knowledge to foreign countries ? Give details.
Answer:
Nalanda was considered a great centre of learning and knowledge in the world. Scholars from different countries used to visit Nalanda to study religion and philosophy.  Scholars used to visit Nalanda to research on Buddhism. Thonim Sambhot, a Tibetan scholar was sent to Nalanda by Chang Gampo, the Emperor of Tibet to learn Sanskrit. He introduced and popularised Sanskrit and Indian knowledge in his country.  They translated Budhhist and Sanskrit words in Tibetan. By presenting the entire thing in new way in Tibet, they gradually converted its Rakshit of Nalanda for the first time in 749 A.D. in Tibet. Question 6.
“Nalanda is the symbol of the most glorious period of our history.” How ? Explain.
Answer:
Nalanda was known for the greatest centre of learning and research in the world. The scholars from different countries used to visit Nalanda University to study religion and philosophy, to learn Buddhism. It bound together the various parts of Asia with links of knowledge at that time. There was no national and racial distinction of knowledge at Nalanda. Nalanda emerged as a flourishing university in the Gupta Age. Bhikshu Nagarjuna and Arya Deva were associated with Nalanda University. Chinese pilgrims Fa-Hien and Hieun T’sang had visited Nalanda and they found it at the height of its glory.

Class 11 English Nalanda : Ancient Seat of Learning

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