[Buddha-l] Nalanda's library destruction

[Richard Hayes]

On May 14, 2013, at 1:05, Ngawang Dorje <rahula_80 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> The burning of Nalanda's library was attributed to tirthikas, according to Tibetan source, provided in my initial email. Is this being disputed?

In Buddhist writings, that term refers to any non-Buddhist. I don't think that anyone is suggesting that Buddhists burned the library at Nālandā. I have never seen anyone dispute the traditional story (given by Warder et al) that the Turkish general Bhaktiar was responsible for the destruction of the library. He was at least nominally Muslim and therefore would be called a tirthika in Buddhist texts.

Richard Hayes