<P> Tibetan Buddhism is not an invention of the Tibetans . Rather, it is quite clear that it derives from the pure lineage of the tradition of the Nalanda Monastery . The master Nagarjuna hailed from this institution, as did many other important philosophers and logicians...</P> <P> The Dalai Lama refers to himself as a follower of the lineage of the seventeen Nalanda masters . </P> <P> An Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript preserved at the Tsethang monastery has superbly painted and well preserved wooden covers and 139 leaves . According to its colophon it was donated by the mother of the great pandita Sri Asoka in the second year of the reign of King Surapala, at the very end of the 11th century . </P> <P> After its decline, Nalanda was largely forgotten until Francis Buchanan - Hamilton surveyed the site in 1811--1812 after locals in the vicinity drew his attention to a vast complex of ruins in the area . He, however, did not associate the mounds of earth and debris with famed Nalanda . That link was established by Major Markham Kittoe in 1847 . Alexander Cunningham and the newly formed Archaeological Survey of India conducted an official survey in 1861--1862 . Systematic excavation of the ruins by the ASI did not begin until 1915 and ended in 1937 . A second round of excavation and restoration took place between 1974 and 1982 . </P>

Nalanda university was born with the help of liberal public charity and donations explain