Pandit Vihara is a Buddhist vihara of ancient Bengal called Chaityabhumi now known as

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

. The site is located in

Anwara Upazila Anowara ( bn, আনোয়ারা), also written ''Anwara'', is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Geography Anwara is located at . It has 38,008 households and a total area of 164.13 km2. Demograp ...

near the city of Chittagong, and was a centre of learning from the fifth century CE to .

The remains

Numerous sculptures, murals, copper plates, inscriptions, seals, coins, plaques, potteries and works in stone, bronze, stucco and terracotta have been unearthed within the ruins of Pandit Vihara. The artefacts are now preserved in various museums of Bangladesh.

Revival efforts

On 28 March 2010, Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

proposed the idea, while addressing the Joint Session during her visit to China, for revival of Pandit university. The name of the university will be changed to International Pandit University and restored following the footsteps of the revival of the ancient Nalanda University in India.

References

{{Buddhism topics Buildings and structures completed in the 9th century Buddhist monasteries in Bangladesh Ancient universities of the Indian subcontinent Archaeological sites in Bangladesh Former populated places in Bangladesh Pala Empire Buddhist sites in Bangladesh