Kingdom of the Mahabharata
Takshashila
तक्षशिला
Ancient university and learning center
Takshashila (Present-day Taxila, Pakistan): Ancient university and learning center, located at coordinates 33.74°N, 72.79°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | तक्षशिला |
| Coordinates | 33.74°N, 72.79°E |
| Modern location | Present-day Taxila, Pakistan |
| Significance | Ancient university and learning center |
About Takshashila
Ancient center of learning and culture. Many princes received education here including Dhritarashtra's maternal relatives.
Why it matters: Ancient university and learning center
Rulers and Custodians
- Taksha
Details
- University
- One of the oldest universities in the world
- Subjects
- Vedas, warfare, medicine, arts, and sciences
On the Map
Takshashila sits at 33.74°N, 72.79°E, in Present-day Taxila, Pakistan.
View on the full mapEvents at Takshashila
- The Snake Sacrifice BeginsYear 51King Janamejaya initiates the great Sarpa Satra (Snake Sacrifice) to avenge his father Parikshit's death by the naga Takshaka. Thousands of snakes perish in the flames.
- Astika Stops the SacrificeYear 51The young sage Astika, nephew of Vasuki, arrives at the sacrifice and stops Takshaka from falling into the fire, saving the snake race.
Stories Set at Takshashila
Astika Saves the Snakes
The End of the Sarpa Satra
Gandhara, Land Beyond the Indus
The kingdom that sent a queen and a gambler
Takshashila, City of the Serpent Sacrifice
Where the epic was first heard
The Age After the Axe
How the warrior caste came back, and how it was spoiled again
The Bow Out of the Water
What Varuna kept until two men needed it
Vyasa Brings Back Parikshit
A Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake Sacrifice
Balarama Returns to the Sea
The Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came From
The Rishi Born From a Word
Vyasa tells his disciples who he was before he was Vyasa
The Return of the Portions
Who everybody turned out to have been
The Road of Works
Brahman and the first Rishis stand a thousand years on the shore, and sacrifice is founded
The Rewards of the Eighteen Parvas
Vaishampayana prices each stage of hearing the Bharata against a sacrifice, from the Agnishtoma to twenty-one thousand years with Indra
The Kings Who Gave Lawfully
Indra refuses the Rishis, a king answers too quickly, and the names of those who reached heaven by honest gifts