Fa-Xian: What is this in your hand?
Ravi: It is a manuscript which my father gave me to read.
Fa-Xian: May I see this manuscript?
Ravi: Why not, It is our precious inheritance and I think you will get a lot of knowledge about our culture and tradition.
Fa-Xian: After observing keenly Amazing it is a great thing, if you permit me to carry with me.
Ravi: Yes, I'll feel great pleasure, if you tell your people about us and our heritage.
Fa-Xian: May I See this manuscript?

Fa-Xian did not throw away his books and statues because he loved them and they were all an important collection for preservation.

The kings wanted to control the Silk Route, because they could benefit from taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by the traders along the Silk Route

Nalanda was a unique centre of Buddhist learning and the most famous Buddhist monastery of that period
Xuan Zang wanted to study in Nalanda as:
• The teachers are men of the highest ability and talent. They follow the teachings of the Buddha in all sincerity.
• The rules of the monastery are strict and everyone has to follow them.

Fa Xian began his journey back home from Bengal. He boarded a ship belonging to some merchants. They had barely travelled for two days when they we caught in a storm. The merchants began throwing their merchandise overboard so as to lighten the load and save the ship from sinking. FaXian threw away his meagre personal belongings, but clung to his books and the statues of the Buddha that he had collected. The books and statues were very precious for him, so he did not want to throw away his books and statues.

(i)It indicates that the Buddha had attained enlightenment while meditating under the tree
(ii)The sculpture belongs to the Stupa at Sanchi

The starting of the Bhakti became Central feature of later Hinduism. It was the time when certain deities were worshipped such as Shiva, Vishnu and Goddesses as Durga. Bhakti refers to a persons's devotion to his or her chosen deity. Anybody could follow the path of Bhakti, be it rich or poor, people belonging to 'high' or 'low' caste, man or woman. The concept of Bhakti is also present in sacred book of the Hindus i.e. 'Bhagavad Gita', included in the Mahabharata. This type of worship spread to various parts of the country. The people who followed Bhakti focused on devotion and individual worship of a God or Goddess and not on the performance of elaborate sacrifices.

Each pilgrim left experiences of their journies
• They wrote about the dangers they faced and experiences during their travels to the
 countries and the monasteries.
• They wrote about the books they carried back with them
• Xuan Zang went back China through the land route. He carried statues of Buddha made of
gold, silver and sandalwood
• He also took about 600 manuscripts loaded on about 20 horses He spent his life converting the manuscripts from Sanskrit to Chinese.
• Fa Xian also took many manuscripts with him He also gave us detailed description of his journey and contemporary Indian society.