Mod 7: Bakhtiyar Khalji and the Fall of the Great Viharas (c. 1197–1206) — the Raid on “Bihar”, Nalanda and Vikramashila, Nadia, the Tibetan Campaign and What Dharmasvamin Saw
Concept
14.13 Bakhtiyar Khalji in Bihar
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
The Tabaqat-i-Nasiri account
Ikhtiyar al-Din Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Turkish (Khalaj) soldier from Afghanistan, served under Muhammad Ghori’s commander Qutbuddin Aibak. From his small iqtas near Mirzapur he raided south Bihar in the last years of the 12th century. The main contemporary account is Minhaj-i-Siraj’s Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (c. 1260).
Minhaj says Bakhtiyar attacked a walled place with about 200 horsemen. The defenders were “shaven-headed Brahmans” and the place was full of books; when he learnt that it was a college, he found the whole fort and town were called “Bihar” (vihara). Historians identify it with Odantapuri at Bihar Sharif. The name of the town — and later of the whole province — comes from this vihara.
- Bakhtiyar Khalji, under Aibak/Ghori, raided Bihar c. 1197–1203; sacked “Bihar” = Odantapuri.
- Source: Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (Minhaj-i-Siraj, c. 1260).
- Question: What does the name “Bihar” come from? Answer: Vihara (monastery).
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
Question 6: Which historical chronicle serves as the primary contemporary authority for Bakhtiyar Khalji's conquest of Bihar?
[BPSC level] The author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri was:
[UPSC level] The fortified vihara Bakhtiyar mistook for a fort, called “Bihar”, is identified with:
[BSSC pattern] Bakhtiyar Khalji served as a commander under:
[BPSC level] The Sena king surprised by Bakhtiyar at Nadia was:
[UPSC level] Bakhtiyar Khalji made his base in Bengal at:
[BPSC level] Bakhtiyar Khalji died in 1206 at:
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
What does the name “Bihar” come from?
Vihara (monastery).Concept
14.14 Nadia, Tibet and the end of the viharas
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
What the sources really say
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Nadia (c. 1204) | Riding ahead with a few horsemen disguised as horse-traders, he surprised the Sena king Lakshmana Sena, who fled to east Bengal |
| Lakhnauti | Made Lakhnauti (Gauda) his base — the start of Turkish rule in Bengal |
| Tibet expedition (1206) | Disastrous campaign towards Tibet/Assam; most of his army perished |
| Death (1206) | Killed at Devkot (north Bengal), traditionally by his officer Ali Mardan |
- Minhaj describes the sack of “Bihar” (Odantapuri) but does not name Nalanda; Vikramashila and Nalanda were ruined in the same wave of raids, according to Tibetan sources.
- The Tibetan monk Dharmasvamin visited Nalanda in 1234–36 and found a few buildings still in use, with the old teacher Rahula Shribhadra teaching about 70 students — so the end was gradual, through repeated raids and the loss of royal patronage.
- Later chronicles like Riyaz-us-Salatin (Ghulam Husain Salim, 1788) retell the story.
- Nadia c. 1204 (Lakshmana Sena); Lakhnauti; Tibet failure; death at Devkot 1206.
- Dharmasvamin (1234–36): Nalanda partly alive — gradual end.
- Question: Who visited Nalanda in 1234–36? Answer: Dharmasvamin.
MCQs
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[UPSC level] The Tibetan monk who visited Nalanda in 1234–36 and found some teaching still going on was:
[BPSC level] Dharmasvamin found which old teacher still teaching at Nalanda?
[UPSC level] Which statement about Minhaj-i-Siraj’s account is correct?
[BSSC pattern] Riyaz-us-Salatin, which retells Bakhtiyar’s campaign, was written in:
[BPSC level] Bakhtiyar’s failed expedition of 1206 was towards:
[UPSC level] Which of these is a long-term cause of Buddhism’s decline in eastern India?
[School] Bakhtiyar Khalji belonged to which people?
One-liners
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Who visited Nalanda in 1234–36?
Dharmasvamin.Concept
🎯 UPSC · BPSC · BSSC · State PSC level: PYQs, traps and mains
| Exam | What it asks from this module |
|---|---|
| UPSC | Tabaqat-i-Nasiri; Dharmasvamin; decline of Buddhism |
| BPSC | Bakhtiyar and Nalanda/Vikramashila; name “Bihar” |
| BSSC / SSC | Who destroyed Nalanda |
Nalanda University was destroyed by: (a) Mahmud of Ghazni (b) Bakhtiyar Khalji (c) Alauddin Khalji (d) Muhammad Ghori
- Exams expect Bakhtiyar Khalji, whose raids around 1200 ruined Odantapuri, Nalanda and Vikramashila. Muhammad Ghori was his overlord; Alauddin Khalji came a century later.
- Bakhtiyar Khalji (c. 1200) ≠ Alauddin Khalji (Delhi Sultan, 1296–1316).
- Contemporary source = Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (Minhaj-i-Siraj); Riyaz-us-Salatin is 18th-century.
Model question: Examine the causes of the decline of Buddhism and its great monasteries in eastern India. Points: loss of royal patronage after the Palas; growth of Brahmanical sects and absorption of Buddha as avatar; Vajrayana’s esoteric turn; dependence on large monasteries; Turkish raids (Bakhtiyar, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri); Dharmasvamin’s evidence of a gradual end.
- Bakhtiyar Khalji ≠ Alauddin Khalji; Tabaqat = contemporary.
- Question: Who wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasiri? Answer: Minhaj-i-Siraj.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
[BPSC level] Who is usually held responsible for the destruction of Nalanda and Vikramashila?
[UPSC level] Which pair of book and author is correct?
[BSSC pattern] The name of the state “Bihar” comes from:
[BPSC level] Bakhtiyar’s Bihar raids took place roughly in:
[UPSC level] Which statement best reflects current research on the end of Nalanda?
[School] Bakhtiyar Khalji attacked Nadia in:
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
Who wrote Tabaqat-i-Nasiri?
Minhaj-i-Siraj.