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Odantapuri

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Odantapuri (also called Odantapura or Uddandapura) was a prominent Buddhist monastic university 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 Magadha.

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12 sections
Contents
  • Location
  • History
  • Legends
  • The ''tirthika'' and the corpse
  • Dharmapala and the serpent
  • Influences
  • Destruction
  • Notable scholars
  • Notes
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Odantapuri (also called Odantapura or Uddandapura) was a prominent Buddhist monastic university 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 Magadha.

The vihara fell into decline in the 11th century, and was looted and destroyed by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkic Muslim invader in the late 1100s, when he launched multiple raids on Bihar and adjoining territories.

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