Vikramashila Mahavihara
| विक्रमशिला | |
Ruins of Vikramashila Mahavihara
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 Shown within India
Shown within India
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| Location | Bihar, India |
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| Coordinates | 25°19′29″N 87°17′05″E / 25.32472°N 87.28472°ECoordinates: 25°19′29″N 87°17′05″E / 25.32472°N 87.28472°E |
| Type | Centre of learning |
| History | |
| Founded | 8th–9th century CE |
| Abandoned | 13th century CE |
| Events | Destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200 CE |
Vikramashila (IAST: Vikramaśilā) was one of the two most important centres of Buddhist learning in India during the Pala Empire, along with Nalanda. Vikramashila was established by King Dharmapala (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda. Atisha, the renowned pandita, is sometimes listed as a notable abbot. It was destroyed by the forces of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200.
Vikramashila (village Antichak, district Bhagalpur, Bihar) is located at about 50 km east of Bhagalpur and about 13 km north-east of Kahalgaon, a railway station on Bhagalpur-Sahebganj section of Eastern Railway. It is approachable through 11 km long motorable road diverting from NH-80 at Anadipur about 2 km from Kahalgaon.
A number of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Bengal and Magadha. According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura, Odantapura, and Jagaddala. The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and there existed "a system of co-ordination among them. It seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.
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