Given below are two statements:

Statement (I): The Nalanda University of ancient India attracted students from various parts of Asia.

Statement (II): The Nalanda University was overshadowed by the universities in Europe and Arabia immediately after its establishment.

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

The correct answer is Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect.

Let us analyze each statement carefully and understand why this is the right choice.

Analyzing Statement I: "The Nalanda University of ancient India attracted students from various parts of Asia."

This statement is correct. Nalanda University, located in present-day Bihar, India, was one of the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world. Founded during the Gupta period (around the 5th century CE) and flourishing especially under the patronage of rulers like Kumara Gupta I, it became an internationally renowned institution. Scholars and students traveled from distant lands — including China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asian regions — to study at Nalanda. The famous Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) and Yijing (I-Tsing) visited and studied here and left detailed accounts of its grandeur, confirming the multinational character of its student body. Subjects taught included theology, philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, and mathematics. At its peak, it is believed to have housed over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers, making it one of the largest residential universities of the ancient world.

Analyzing Statement II: "The Nalanda University was overshadowed by the universities in Europe and Arabia immediately after its establishment."

This statement is incorrect. When Nalanda was established and flourishing (roughly 5th to 12th century CE), the great universities of Europe — such as the University of Bologna (founded ~1088 CE) and the University of Oxford (~1096 CE) — had not yet come into existence. Nalanda predates most of these institutions by several centuries. Rather than being overshadowed, Nalanda was itself a beacon of global scholarship, attracting the world's finest minds. It was not eclipsed or made irrelevant by any contemporaneous institution; on the contrary, it stood as a supreme center of learning throughout its existence. It was tragically destroyed by the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1193 CE, which brought its legacy to an abrupt end — not competition from foreign universities.

Conclusion:

Since Statement I correctly identifies Nalanda's pan-Asian reach and intellectual prestige, and Statement II incorrectly claims that it was overshadowed by European and Arabian universities immediately after its founding (a claim contradicted by historical chronology), the most appropriate answer is that Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect.