The Madhyamakālaṃkāra and its tradition survived the destruction of Nalanda Vihara and the ascendancy of the Muslim empire in India during the 13th-century eclipse of Buddhism through its transplantation to the Tibetan Plateau by Śāntarakṣita at the request of Trisong Detsen. It was taught at the Samye Monastery, which was safeguarded by the Himalayas.