Vikramashilā Monastery ［ヴィクラマシラー寺］ (;  Bikuramashirā-ji): A Buddhist monastery built in the Ganges Valley, in what is today Bihar State, India, around 800 by Dharmapāla, the second ruler of the Pāla dynasty. This dynasty ruled eastern India from the mid-eighth to the late twelfth century. Along with Nālandā Monastery, Vikramashilā Monastery prospered as a center for the study of Buddhist doctrines, particularly the esoteric teachings referred to as Tantric Buddhism. On the grounds of the monastery were more than one hundred buildings. Its complete destruction in 1203 by the Muslims, however, is regarded as symbolic of the ultimate decline of Buddhism in India.