Ancient and famous libraries of the world

by Amrit Hallan on June 21, 2009

I wonder why in this list of the 7 most impressive libraries from throughout history there is no Indian library.

I did some research and there were definitely some great libraries at the universities of Takshasila, Nalanda, Vikramshila and Kanchipuram. Of course libraries, especially during the ancient times, took decades, and even centuries to gain a stature, and they were among the first places to be burned down during an invasion. May be the Indian rulers and other influential people were always busy building mega temples so they never spared a thought for libraries and books, although some really great literature was being written throughout the history.

But then Nalanda was one of the first and the biggest centers of teaching in the world, back in the 5th century B.C. So may be people in India believed in disseminating information and sowing seeds of knowledge instead of hoarding it. Please share in the comments section what you know of great and ancient Indian libraries.

Suvro corrected the time and a few details about Nalanda university in the comments sections (thank you!). He wrote:

Oh, I think there’s a factual mistake regarding dates in your blogpost: Nalanda, to the best of my knowledge, grew out of a few villages donated to some Buddhist scholar/monks by a late Gupta king sometime in the 6th century A.D., not B.C.

  • http://suvrobemused.blogspot.com Suvro Chatterjee

    No surprises here, Amrit: it’s an article written by a westerner, however well-meaning, and they typically suffer from myopia where the East is concerned… notice that there’s no mention of any library in China or Japan either (though I find it strange that one in Timbuktu has made it to the list).

    And we easterners don’t help them much! How little do we care to preserve, learn about and publicise our historical records? In all my life I have never read a detailed description of the fabled libraries at Nalanda and Taxila, leave alone seeing a picture of some kind, even an artist’s impression. As for the state of our contemporary libraries, the less said the better. At least it is to the credit of people in the west that they value their libraries still, and do a lot to preserve and improve them from time to time!

    Oh, I think there’s a factual mistake regarding dates in your blogpost: Nalanda, to the best of my knowledge, grew out of a few villages donated to some Buddhist scholar/monks by a late Gupta king sometime in the 6th century A.D., not B.C.

    I am mad about books and libraries myself. Could I use this link to write something in my own blog? Please send the permission, if you do, by email.
    Best regards…

  • Alex

    I’m not sure if the criticism against the author is fair. Three of the seven are not even Western. So I don’t know if he suffers from “Western myopia.” The title is “most impressive” libraries and maybe some libraries of the East didn’t meet his criteria? The argument becomes more tenuous considering the libraries of Ancient Rome and Athens didn’t make the list.

    The world has had many great libraries. I’m pretty sure Western historians, who have produced some of the finest historians, are aware of this. But the commentator makes a very important point: If peoples of the East aren’t as diligent about their own libraries how can a Westerner be unless they take up residence there!

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