The Ancient University That Was Vikramshila Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

The ruins of Vikramshila
The Buddhist vihara,
Mahavihara
Think I,
Dream I
The heyday of it,
The architectural excellence
And sculptural beauty of it
Which attracted students from far and wide,
Even going beyond the territories,
Drawing from far east.

Vikramshila, the ruins of Vikramshila,
The Buddhist university
Of ancient India,
Established during the Pala period,
But destroyed during the raids
Of the medieval time
Talk I,
Dream I
As for how to resurrect it,
Renovate and re-orient it,
Vikramshila,
The gates of it once upon a time
With the dwarpalas.

The two-terraced vihara, mahavihara
With the main stupa atop of,
A flight of stairs
Taking to
From the ground level
To the first terrace
To the second
To the uppermost stupa
With the stucco images of Buddha
On the walls of it.

A university, ancient university
Made from red bricks, mud mortar
And lime clay,
Plastered and painted,
Decorated and adorned
With the terracotta plates
From the outside
And rounded with
The temples
Tibetan and Indian
And the pillars at the entrances.

The complex a residential complex
Attached to the stupa
And adjoining them,
Unfolding and opening from all sides
To go up to the main stupa
And the mandapa
And the cells of the terraces
Of the square vihara housing them both
The acharyas and bhikkus
With the chambers and ante-chambers too
For private meditation
And worship.

Vikramshila, how had it been its day,
Vikramshila, how the glory of it,
From which path
The gnan-pipashu bhikkus,
Knowledge-thirsty bhikkus came,
From Tibet, China,
Nepal, Burma,
Sikkim, Bhutan
They would have,
From far and wide
To learn at Vikramshila!