| By the time of Asoka, Brahmanism or Hinduism had | | | | outside its homeland. In northern India the Mahayana |
| been in the process of developing from a religion of | | | | became stronger while the Theravada weakened. In |
| sacrificial rituals into cults of worshipful devotion (Bhakti) | | | | the ninth century B.E. (4th century C.E.), the Theravada |
| to gods of various names, such as Hari, Narayana, | | | | was so weak that the centre at Buddhagaya had to |
| Vishnu and Siva. During his reign, though Buddhism | | | | send Buddhaghosa to Ceylon to translate the |
| became the ruling faith of the people, the Brahmins | | | | commentaries back into Pali and bring them back to |
| were still influential and formed a large part of the ruling | | | | India. |
| class. As soon as Asoka died, a Brahminical reaction | | | | The Mahayana found great support and flourished |
| set in. His empire became weakened and began to | | | | under Kanishka, a great king who ruled the Kushan |
| break up. About fifty years after Asoka's death, the | | | | Empire in northwest India and Pakistan in the early half |
| Brahmin Pushyamitr, commander in chief of the last | | | | of the seventh century B.E. (1st-2nd century C.E.), and |
| Mauryan ruler, assassinated his master and made | | | | can be said to have taken a separate course of |
| himself the first king of the Sunga dynasty. | | | | history ever since. |
| Pushyamitr, in an effort to return northern India to | | | | It should be noted that of the five greatest kings of |
| Brahmanism, made two great horse sacrifices and | | | | Indian history (from B.E. I till the British occupation in B.E. |
| began persecuting the Buddhists. He burnt their | | | | 2327/1784 C.E.), three were devout Buddhists, one |
| monasteries, killed the monks, and even made a | | | | was a softened Hindu, and another one was a Muslim |
| declaration that he would reward anyone who | | | | who sought to found a new religion of his own. |
| presented him with the head of a Buddhist. | | | | The first and the greatest of the greatest was Asoka |
| However, Pushyamitr was not so powerful as the | | | | (B.E.218-260) whose devoted support to the early |
| great kings of the Mauryas and Buddhism did not | | | | form of Buddhism caused it to spread for the first time |
| come to an end through his hostile efforts. In spite of | | | | beyond the borders of India, become a world religion |
| the persecution, most people remained devoted to | | | | and develop into the so-called Buddhist culture of |
| their faith. Moreover, Buddhism flourished in other | | | | southern Asian countries. |
| kingdoms, both in the north and in the south, which | | | | The second was Kanishka (B.E. 621-644/78-101 C.E.), |
| broke away from the former empire of the Mauryas | | | | the great patron of Mahayana, who completed the |
| both before and during Pushyamitr's reign. Especially in | | | | work of Asoka and helped the northern branch of |
| the northwest, it even found an energetic patronage | | | | Buddhism to spread far and wide. |
| under an IndoGreek king called Menander. | | | | The third was Chandragupta II Vikramaditya |
| Menander or Milinda was a great king who, ruled the | | | | (B.E.923-956/380-413 C.E.) of the Hindu Gupta dynasty, |
| kingdom of the Bactrian Greeks in northwest India | | | | who reigned during the period when Buddhist |
| during the same period as Pushyamitr. As a Buddhist, | | | | institutions had attained great prosperity and been so |
| he was both a scholar and a great patron of the | | | | influential that the Hindu rulers had to depend on |
| religion. A great dialogue on Buddhism between the | | | | Buddhists (such as their own generals or advisers) and |
| king and the Elder Nagasena was recorded in the | | | | Buddhist institutions for their own power and glory, and |
| Milindapanha, a well-known Pali masterpiece which | | | | were forced or induced to become tolerant of |
| was named after him. Around this time, through the | | | | Buddhism and to support the Buddhist cause or even |
| Greek influence, there appeared for the first time the | | | | became converted to Buddhism themselves. |
| making of images of the Buddha. Within a century, this | | | | The fourth was Harsha or Harsha-Vardhana or |
| practice became common in northwest India as a | | | | Harsha Siladitya (B.E. 1149-1191/606-648 C.E.), the last |
| development of the Gandhara school of art and tnen | | | | Buddhist emperor of India, who kept the light of Indian |
| spread and was accepted in all Buddhist lands. The | | | | Buddhism glowing for a short interval after it had been |
| creation of Buddha-images as objects of worship | | | | worn out both by foreign invasions and internal |
| contributed much to the development of religious | | | | persecution and degeneration, and before it |
| ceremonies, temples, paintings, sculptures, crafts, and | | | | disappeared, through the same causes, from the |
| music in later centuries. | | | | religious scene of India. |
| Also by this time, a new movement, the so-called | | | | The fifth and last was Akbar (B.E.2103-2148/1560-1605 |
| Mahayana, had begun to be active in northwest India. | | | | C.E.) who came to the throne of the Moghul Empire |
| Then and there both the Theravada and the | | | | during the Muslim period when Buddhism had long |
| Mahayana flourished side by side. From there they | | | | disappeared from India, and, finding himself dissatisfied |
| spread to Central Asia and, some time before or | | | | with the existing faiths, created his own religion of |
| during the reign of King Mingti (58-75 C.E.), further to | | | | reason called din Ilahi or the Divine Faith which died with |
| China. As time passed by, the centres of the | | | | him. |
| Theravada moved toward the south and flourished | | | | |