Nava Nalanda Mahavihara - NNM

On November 20, 1951, the foundation stone of the first building was laid by his excellency, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Engraved upon it are the following words: hments was the complete publication, in 41 volumes, of a critical edition of the entire Pali Tipitaka in Devanagari script. It was very popular and quickly went out of print.
In the early 1950's, in order to revive the lost glory and the heritage of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, his Excellency Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, declared that the ancient seat of Buddhist learning at Nalanda would be revived. At the insistence of Ven. Bhikshu Jagdish Kashyap and with this goal in mind, the Government of Bihar established a research institute called "Magadh Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Pali and Allied Languages and Buddhist Learning" at Nalanda in 1951. It later came to be known as Nava Nalanda Mahavihara.
The establishment of the “Magadha Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Pali and Allied Languages and Buddhist Learning” at Nalanda at the request of Ven.
The inspiration behind the establishment of the Institute was to develop a centre of higher studies in Pali and Buddhism on the lines of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara which was one of the great seats of Buddhist learning from 5th to 12th A.D.

The present campus of the Mahavihara is situated on the southern bank of the historical lake, Indrapushkarni.Close to the northern bank of the lake lie the ruins of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara.Within a short span of time Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda has become a viable academic institution where students from many countries, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, come every year to learn the teachings of Lord Buddha and quench their spiritual thirst.

On 13th November, 2006 the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara has been granted status of a Deemed University under section 3 of UGC Act. 1956 by the Government of India, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development and, at present, it is functioning as an autonomous Institution, fully funded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.