Which of the following universities in ancient India had six colleges each…

Concept

Historical descriptions of ancient universities distinguish a loosely organized teaching centre from a centrally administered residential institution. Evidence about colleges, gates, governing boards, and scholarly links identifies the institutional pattern rather than merely the fame of a university.

Application

1. In the standard historical account used for this exam, Nalanda had six colleges and a residential academic administration.

2. Vikramashila was organized as a Pala-period monastic university with six colleges, gate scholars, and a central academic establishment.

3. Historical accounts describe intellectual and administrative links between Nalanda and Vikramashila, including a shared scholarly board; this establishes the exchange-of-ideas part of the statement.

Contrast

• Sridhanya Katak was an important Buddhist learning centre in the Andhra region, but the cited six-college institutional description is not the standard identification used for this pair.

• Takshashila was a renowned early centre where students generally studied under individual teachers; it did not have the same centralized collegiate organization described here.

Result

Therefore, the universities identified by the statement are Nalanda and Vikramashila, so the answer is “B and D only.”