Asian Art

Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent

Buddhism, which originated in India, gradually dwindled in that region starting in the 4th–6th century CE, and was largely ousted by Hinduism approximately by the 12th century, in a centuries-long process. Lack of appeal among the rural masses, who instead embraced religious rituals and beliefs developed during the Hindu synthesis, as well as Turkic invasions and dwindling financial support from trading communities and royal elites, were major factors in the decline of Buddhism in its Indian homeland. Across many centuries, Buddhism largely spread to other regions of Asia. The total Buddhist population in 2010 in South Asia – excluding that of Sri Lanka, Bhutan (both Buddhist majority states), and Nepal – was about 10 million, of which about 92.5% in India, 7.2% lived in Bangladesh and 0.2% in Pakistan.

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See also

• ▸Ashina tribe
• ▸Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve
• ▸Cai Lun

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.