Question

In the 6^th century BCE, which of the following places flourished as a centre of higher education ?
1. Nalanda
2. Vikramshila
3. Takshashila
4. Ujjayini

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Takshashila

In the 6th century BCE, Takshashila flourished as a centre of higher education.

Takshashila:

• Takshashila was an early Buddhist centre of learning.
• According to available references, it is dated back to at least the 5th century BC.
• Some scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the 6th century BC.
• Takshashila is described in some detail later in Jātaka tales, around the 5th century AD.
• It became a noted center of learning at least several centuries before Christ and continued to attract students until the destruction of the city in the 5th century AD.
• Takshashila is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya.
• The famous treatise Arthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) by Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself.
• Chanakya (or Kautilya), the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta, and the Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila. 

 Nalanda:

• Nalanda is an ancient centre of higher learning in Bihar, India from 427 to 1197.
• Nalanda was established in the 5th century AD in Bihar, India.
• Founded in 427 in northeastern India, not far from what is today the southern border of Nepal, it survived until 1197.