Xuanzang was a 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India to learn more about Buddhism. He traveled along the Silk Road, passing through cities like Turfan, Samarkand, Balkh, and Bamyan. His main purpose was to study at the famous Nalanda University. While in India between 630-645 CE, he visited many important Buddhist sites and studied under scholars. He returned to China with numerous Buddhist texts and scriptures. Xuanzang's detailed accounts of places he visited helped later identify important archaeological sites in India like Nalanda University.

1. BY:- AMAN KUMAR
ENR. NO:- 1801001002
DEPT. OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY, CULTURE AND
ARCHAEOLOGY

2. CONTENTS
 WHO WAS XUANZANG
 WHEN HE COME TO INDIA
 HOW HE COME INDIA
 PURPOSE OF JOURNEY
 POLITICAL CONDITION OF INDIA
DURING THAT TIME
 WHICH PLACES HE VISTED IN INDIA
 RETURN TO HIS NATIVE LAND
 RELATION OF XUANGZANG WITH INDIAN
ARCHEAOLOGY

3. WHO WAS XUANZANG

4. Early life
Xuanzang was born Chen Hui (or Chen Yi) around 602
AD in Chenhe Village, Goushi Town Luozhou (near
present-day Luoyang, Henan)
MOTHER– LADY SONG
FATHER-- CHEN HUI
Xuanzang was the youngest of four children
or generations Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim
to India who translated the sacred scriptures
of Buddhism from Sanskrit into Chinese and founded
in China the Buddhist Consciousness Only school

5. RECONSTRUCTED HOUSE OF
XUANZANG IN CHINA

6.  Born into a family
in which there had
been scholars for
generations,
Xuanzang received
a classical
Confucian
education in his
youth, but under
the influence of an
older brother he
became interested
in the Buddhist
scriptures and was
soon converted to

7. WHENHE COME TO INDIA
IN 627, Xuanzang
reportedly had a
dream that
convinced him to
journey to India.
The year was 630.

8. HE visit to India was an
important event of the reign
of Harshavardhana. India is
much indebted to this
Chinese traveller for the
valuable accounts he left
behind with many details of

9. HOW HE COME TO
INDIA
BY
ANCIENT
SILK
ROUTE

10. WHAT IS ANCIENT SILK ROUTE

11.  The Silk Route was a historic trade route that dated from
the second century BC until the 14th century AD and
stretched from China to the Mediterranean.
 The Silk Route was so named because of the heavy silk
trading during that period. This valuable fabric
originated in China, which initially had a monopoly on
silk production until the secrets of its creation spread.
 The Silk Route traversed China, India, Persia, Arabia,
Greece and Italy. In addition to silk, the route facilitated
the trade of other fabrics, spices, grains, fruits and
vegetables, animal hides, wood and metal work,
precious stones and other items of value.
 The Silk Route was also known as the Silk Road.

12. ABOUT HIS JOURNEY Through SILK ROUTE
Turfan
 Hsuan-tsang stayed for some time in Turfan, where he got to know
the king who was fascinated by the monk’s knowledge of sacred
Buddhist texts. Regrettably, the king became so mesmerized that
he banned Hsuan-tsang from leaving Turfan, and the monk had to
threatened a hunger strike to make the ruler change his mind. To
help the monk on his continued journey, the king provided him with
letters of introduction that he could show other rulers along the way.
 Samarkand
 One of the cities that Hsuan-tsang passed through on his way to India was
Samarkand, a major trading hub along the Silk Road. In his book, he
describes Samarkand as a great imperial city, surrounded by a wall, an
governing a powerful state. “This is a rich land, where the treasures of

13. Continuing to the south
 Balkh
 Balkh turned out to be home to over 3,000 Buddhist
monks of the non-Mahayana kind, and Hsuan-tsang
acquired the text Mahavibhasa which he later translated
into Chinese.
 One of the monks living in Balkh was a man named
Prajnakara, with whom Hsuan-tsang studied early
Buddhist scriptures. When it was time for Hsuan-tsang to
continue his trip to India, Prajnakara accompanied him.
 Bamyan
 In Bamyan, the two monks visited the two large Buddhas
of Bamiyan; enormous statues carved into the rock face.

14.  Kapisi
 After Bamyan, the two monks traveled east,
crossing the Shibar Pass and reaching the regional
capital of Kapisi. Hsuan-tsang reports that there
were over a hundred Buddhist monasteries there
and circa 6,000 monks. This was also the place
where Hsuang-tsang for the first time in his life met
Jains and Hindu.
 Reaching India
 From Kapisi, the journey continued to Adinapur and
Laghman. Now, in the year 630, Hsuan-tsang
considered himself to have reached India.

15. PURPOSE OF JOURNEY
 He longed for
knowing more and
more of Buddhism
to satisfy his
spiritual hunger.
 But without a visit to
India, he knew his
desire for learning
would remain
unfulfilled.
 When he was
about 30, he
secretly left China
for an adventurous
journey towards

16. POLITICAL SITUTION OF INDIA DURING 7th CENTURY
CE
 In the begining of
7th century two
great Kingdom were
established first one
was Harsha
vardhana
Empire and the
second one
was Chalukya
Empire (SOUTH)

17. PLACES HE VISTED IN INDIA
 LUMBNI (NOW IN NEPAL)
 KASHMIR
 VARANASI
 KUSHINAGAR
 UNIVERSITY OF NALANDA (MAIN MOTO OF
COMING TO INDIA)
DURING HIS STAY HE VISTED
 ALL THE SITES RELATED TO BUDDHA
 NORTH TO SOUTH, EAST TO WEST OF INDIA

18. RETURN TO NATIVE LAND
 Return to China in 645 CE
 Xuanzang was greeted with much honor
but he refused all high civil appointments
offered by the still-reigning
emperor, Emperor Taizong of Tang.
Instead, he retired to a monastery and
devoted his energy in translating Buddhist
texts until his death in AD 664
 According to his biography, he returned
with, "over six hundred Mahayana and
Hinayana texts, seven statues of the

19. RELATION OF XUANZANG WITH INDIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY

20.  ANCIENT NALANDA UNIVERSITY
EXCAVATED BY RECORDS IN HIS DIARY
WHICH HE WRITTEN DURING HIS STAY IN
NALANDA
 IT WAS YEAR 1860s WHEN GREAT
ARCHAEOLOGIST SIR ALEXCENDER
CUNIGHAM IDENTIFIED THE SITE NALANDA
 AND IN THE YEAR 1915-1916 THE
ARCHEALOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
STARTS THE EXCAVATION IN THIS SITE
 DURING EXCAVATION ARCHAEOLOGIST
FOUND THAT IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 5th

21.  THE CAMPUS HAVE SEPRATE
COMPLEX FOR EACH FIELD
OF STUDY.
 IT HAVE 10 MEDITATION HALL,
PARKS, LAKES, WELL
DRAINAGE SYSTEM, AND A
GREAT LIBRARY WHICH
UPHOLD OVER 9 MILLION
MANUSCRIPTS

22. DECLINE OF UNIVERSITY
 According to the records Nalanda University
was destroyed three times by invaders, but
rebuilt only twice.
 The first destruction was caused by the
Huns under Mihirakula during the reign of
Skandagupta (455–467 AD). But Skanda’s
successors restored the library and improved
it with an even bigger building.
 The second destruction came in the early 7th
century by the Gaudas. This time, the
Buddhist king Harshavardhana (606–648
AD) restored the university.
 The third and most destructive attack came

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