From the moment the Buddha (563–483 BC) set forth on his path to awakening, his teachings began to transform the religious landscape of ancient India. The Dharma attracted followers from every stratum of society, from the royal to the immiserated. Across the major kingdoms of the time, rulers and benefactors expressed their devotion by taking refuge in the Triple Gem and supporting the emerging Saṅgha. As Buddhists and seekers alike, we celebrate this long history and inherited tradition this Vesak.
The dawn of the Dharma in ancient India
During the Buddha’s lifetime, powerful monarchs such as Bimbisāra, his son Ajātasattu, and Prasenajit provided crucial patronage that enabled the Dharma to expand throughout northern India. Their royal endorsement strengthened the institutional stability of the monastic community and enhanced Buddhism’s public influence. In the centuries after the Buddha’s Mahaparinirvāṇa, imperial sponsorship further consolidated Buddhism’s presence. The Mauryan emperor Aśoka (304–232 BC) actively promoted the Dharma by erecting stupas, founding monasteries, and supporting missionary activity beyond the subcontinent.
Later, the Kushan ruler Kaniṣka (78–151 AD) advanced Buddhist scholastic and artistic traditions, fostering developments that would shape Mahāyāna thought and Gandhāran art. The enduring contributions of Aśoka and Kaniṣka established the political and cultural foundations upon which Buddhism would reach its classical zenith during the period of the Gupta Dynasty (240– 550 AD) and the Pāla Dynasty (750–1162).
Gupta patronage and scholastic expansion
During the Gupta era (4th–6th centuries), Buddhism entered a period of doctrinal refinement and institutional growth. Royal patrons such as Śrīgupta, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II supported pilgrimage centers at Bodh Gayā, Sārnāth, Kuśīnagar, and Lumbinī. Chinese pilgrims like Faxian (337–422) and Xuanzang (602–64) described thriving monasteries, disciplined monastic communities, and impressive artistic achievements.
At the intellectual center stood Nālandā Mahāvihāra, founded in the fifth century and destined to become the most renowned Buddhist super-monastery of the medieval world. Housing thousands of monks and students, Nālandā became a beacon of logic, metaphysics, meditation, grammar, medicine, and debate.
It was here that towering philosophers shaped Buddhist thought. Nāgārjuna articulated the Middle Way (Madhyamaka), grounded in emptiness (śūnyatā) and dependent origination. Asaṅga and Vasubandhu developed Yogācāra, emphasizing consciousness and cognition. Dignāga and Dharmakīrti systematized Buddhist logic (pramāṇa) even before Hindu counterparts. And here, Śāntideva composed the Bodhicaryāvatāra, a masterpiece on compassion and the bodhisattva path.
These scholars ensured that Indian Buddhism became philosophically sophisticated and internationally influential.
The Pāla renaissance
Following the Guptas, the Pāla dynasty (8th–12th centuries) initiated a Buddhist renaissance in eastern India and Bengal. Kings such as Dharmapāla and Mahīpāla I established major monastic universities including Vikramaśīla, Odāntapurī, and Somapura Mahāvihāra. These institutions functioned as sister centers to Nālandā and extended Buddhist influence to Tibet and Southeast Asia.
The great master Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, trained at Vikramaśīla, later revitalized Buddhism in Tibet. Under the Pālas, Vajrayāna and tantric traditions matured, blending ritual, meditation, and philosophy. Buddhist art reached new heights in bronze sculpture and manuscript illumination. For nearly a millennium and a half, Buddhism in India stood as a vibrant, adaptive, and globally connected tradition.
The rise of Prajñāpāramitā literature
The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is considered one of the oldest Buddhist teachings that evolved between the first century BC and the sixth century AD. The Sanskrit term “Prajñā” refers to “wisdom” and “pāramitā” denotes “perfection.” The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is translated as the discourse on the perfection of wisdom. Influenced by the profound teaching of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra literature, several versions of this discourse were compiled: the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or the Perfection of wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines; the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or the Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines; the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or the Perfection of Wisdom in One Thousand Lines (Chinese version translated by Xuanzang), the Vajracchedikā, which is also known as the Diamond Sūtra or the Diamond Cutter Sūtra, and the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra or the Heart Sūtra.
Tantra and the diamond vehicle
From the late Gupta period onward, tantra, or Vajrayāna, emerged as a dynamic spiritual current. Known as the “Diamond Vehicle,” it emphasized mantra, mandala visualization, mudrā, and guru devotion. Tantric masters taught that awakening could be realized swiftly through transformative ritual and meditative insight. Originating in northeastern India, Vajrayāna spread to Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Japan. Its sophisticated symbolism and ritual technology enriched Buddhist spirituality and ensured its transmission beyond India’s borders.
The collapse: Invasion and destruction
Buddhism’s institutional foundations proved vulnerable as early as the fifth century, when the White Huns ravaged northwestern India, damaging monasteries and urban centers. Although Buddhism revived under the Pālas, political fragmentation weakened centralized protection. Buddhism also found it difficult to compete with the Shaivite sects of southern India, which were patronized by militaristic kings and princes with powerful military forces.
The decisive blow came at the end of the twelfth century. In 1191 CE, Turkic forces under Ikhtiyār Al-Dīn Muḥammad Bakhtiyār Khaljī razed Nālandā Mahāvihāra and slaughtered its monks. The flower of Buddhist scholasticism was destroyed. Sister institutions—Vikramaśīla and Odāntapurī—met similar fates. The destruction of monastic universities dismantled Buddhism’s educational infrastructure. Surviving monks fled to Nepal, Tibet, Bengal, and South India. By the thirteenth century, Buddhism as a dominant organized religion had largely disappeared from the land of its birth.
Modern revival: Return of the Dharma
From the eighteenth century onward, reformers and scholars rekindled interest in India’s Buddhist heritage. The Sri Lankan reformer Anagārika Dharmapāla founded the Mahā Bodhi Society in 1891, campaigning to restore Bodh Gayā and other sacred sites. Monastic leaders such as Kripāśaran Mahāthera promoted Pāli studies and institutional education.
A transformative moment came in 1956 when B. R. Ambedkar, champion of social justice and architect of India’s constitution, converted to Buddhism along with hundreds of thousands of followers. For many Dalits, Buddhism offered dignity, equality, and spiritual renewal. Scholars like Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap reestablished Buddhist studies at the new institute of Nava Nālandā Mahāvihāra. Meditation teachers such as S. N. Goenka popularized Vipassanā meditation nationwide.
Cycles of impermanence
The history of Buddhism in India mirrors the Buddha’s own teaching on impermanence. From humble beginnings beneath the Bodhi tree, Buddhism rose to imperial splendor, intellectual brilliance, and artistic magnificence. Universities like Nālandā once illuminated Asia with their scholarship. Yet political upheaval and invasion brought devastation and near extinction. And still, the Dharma did not vanish. It survived in memory, manuscript, migration, and meditation. Today, pilgrims once again circumambulate the Mahābodhi Temple. Scholars study Sanskrit and Pāli texts. Communities gather to chant ancient sūtras.
The rise and fall of Indian Buddhism is not merely a story of loss, but also one of patience and resilience. Ashes gave way to renewal. The land that first heard the lion’s roar continues, quietly but steadily, to echo with the sound of the Dharma.
References
Sanjoy Barua Chowdhury. 2019. “Buddhist Transmission along the Silk Road: The Propagation of the Sarvāstivāda School in China.” In The Journal of International Buddhist Studies College, 4 (1), 1–8. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2025 from https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ibsc/article/view/208948.
– 2022. “A Forgotten Buddhist Philanthropist from Boṅgabhūmi: The Life and Works of Kṛpāśaraṇa Mahāthērō (1865–1927)”. In Studio Orientalia Slovaca. Vol. 21.2. 89-115.
Toshiichi Endo. 2002. Buddha In Theravada Buddhism: A Study of the Concept of Buddha in the Pali Commentaries. Dehiwela: Buddhist Cultural Centre.
Charles Willemen. 2008. “Kumārajīva’s ‘Explanatory Discourse’ about Abhidharmic Literature.” In Journal of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies 12.
K.L. Dhammajoti. 2020. “Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2025 from https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-682.
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