“NABADWIP” A RIVAL OF MITHILA WHERE PROFESSORS WERE APPOINTED AFTER ASSESSING THEIR PERFORMANCE IN DEBATES. By Sahana Singh (An author, editor and commentator.)

Nabadwip (APPROX. 15 CENTURY CE — 19 CENTURY CE).

The university of Mithila guarded its knowledge so zealously that it did not allow students to copy any manuscripts. Students could only leave with their degrees and were not allowed to take any books or notes. The story goes that when Vasudeva Sarvabhauma (of Nabadwip), who studied in Mithila, was not allowed to copy two critical texts, he memorized them and after returning to Nabadwip, he reproduced the texts from memory. He founded an academy for Navya Nyaya, that used the new frameworks invented in Mithila, and soon Nabadwip began to be known for its outstanding scholarship in logic. An interesting manner of selecting chairs and professors at Nabadwip was that applicants had to show proof of their original works and also had to hold their own against opponents in an open debate observed and judged by an assembly of scholars. At its peak, the university had 4,000 students and 600 teachers. The classes were conducted like seminars or colloquiums in which teachers would start with a debate and students could join in.