Useful, but blaming it all on Brahmins is a bit short-sided. Reviving the Dharma that way, the Dharma flourished for 40 years in the Central Land (Magadha?). It is known for the bravery of its people, especially women, against the injustices of the state. Dr. Johrapurkar noted that among them, the names Sataghare, Dongare, Navaghare, Kavishvar, Vasanik and Ichchhabhojanik still survive in Maharashtra as family names.[108]. In 1193, the Nalanda University was destroyed by the Islamic fanatic Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turk; this event is seen by scholars as a late milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. Do you want to kill an idea? In the presidential address he delivered one to which we shall turn as an example of Marxist scholarship this is the account he gives of the destruction of Buddhist viharas, and of Nalanda in particular: A Tibetan tradition has it that the Kalacuri King Karna(11th century) destroyed many Buddhist temples and monasteries in Magadha, and the Tibetan text Pag Sam Jon Zang refers to the burning of the library of Nalandaby some Hindu fanatics.. Jyotirao Phule exemplifies this contradiction in The Farmers Whipcord showing how Brahmins enjoy the loot of the ignorant farmer. Certainly, these few sentences do not provide a perspective to students on whether it was fair to impose jizya and Aurangzebs motivation in reversing Akbars abolition of it. At the time I-tsing was at the university, there were 3,700 monks. [26][36][27][28][29][30], Over time the new Indian dynasties which arose after the 7th and 8th centuries tended to support Hinduism, and this conversion proved decisive. The historic prevalence and history of Tibetan Buddhism in the above mentioned Northern regions of Jammu and Kashmir is reported in the Rajatarangini of Kalhana written in 1150/1 CE. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990. 0:00 / 6:17 Who destroyed Nalanda University - Brahmins or Bakhtiyar Khilji The ONLY Solution 233 subscribers Subscribe Like Share 16K views 2 years ago This video presents various opinions. His blood turned into milk and many flowers emerged from his body. [43] Also, "the increasingly esoteric nature" of both Hindu and Buddhist tantrism made it "incomprehensible to India's masses", for whom Hindu devotionalism and the worldly power-oriented Nath Siddhas became a far better alternative. Pushyamitra Shunga's persecution of Buddhists was intended against the Greco-Buddhists who were supporting the last Greek Buddhist invader Demetrius (Dhammamitta) who was eventually defeated by Pushyamitra. The untouchables are the condemned people of such act of victors. [61] Alexis Sanderson has shown that Tantric Buddhism is filled with imperial imagery reflecting the realities of medieval India, and that in some ways work to sanctify that world. (Thus) he flew into the sky.. He uses this and other gifts to appease rulers of smaller kingdoms to join the fight againstthe king of Taksig (Turkistan?). He doesnt cite the Tibetan text, he does what Marxists do: he cites another Marxist citing the Tibetan text! 775812). Nalanda (/'nln/) was an acclaimed Mahavihara, a large Buddhist monastery in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar ), India. The differences between Buddhism and Hinduism blurred, and Vaishnavism, Shaivism and other Hindu religions became increasingly popular, while Brahmins developed a new relationship with the state. Right to Education? School is, of course, just one aspect of a students social milieu. But wait, there is originality! KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge. The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent was the first great iconoclastic invasion into the Indian subcontinent. Brahminism predates the Buddhism and Jainism. [11] This consisted of building monasteries and religious monuments, donating property such as the income of villages for the support of monks, and exempting donated property from taxation. [97], Fogelin also notes that some elements of the Buddhist sangha moved to the Himalayas, China, and Southeast Asia, or they may have reverted to secular life or become wandering ascetics. When he visited Kashmir in 1597 he met with a few old men professing Buddhism, however, he 'saw none among the learned'. Janata Weekly is Indias oldest independent socialist weekly. Fake book because given quotes from mentioned books are not correct, just go and read these books. And also, the one that is misunderstood a lot for several reasons. Later Buddhist literature also begins to see kings as bodhisattvas and their actions as being in line with the dharma (Buddhist kings like Devapala and Jayavarman VII also claimed this). According to Jha, A tradition recorded in a twelfth-century Kashmiri text, the Rajatarangini of Kalhana, mentions one of Ashokas sons, Jalauka. [112], In 1891, the Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) pioneering Buddhist activist Don David Hewavitarane later to be world-renowned as Anagarika Dharmapala visited India. Great article and his books are a must read. The latter sends gifts. Excluding Burma's nearly 9.2 million Buddhists in 1901, this colonial-era census reported 0.3 million Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan in the provinces, states and agencies of British India or about 0.1% of the total reported population. Dilip Mandal school of thought. Dr. Ambedkar, on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur converted to Buddhism along with his 365,000 followers. [41], Buddhist sources also mention violence against Buddhists by Hindu Brahmins and kings. Students are not promoted to read contemporary books written in Sanskrit, percian,Arabic and Urdu by contemporary writers, although their English translations are available. good post giving us to knowledge of history because very less person has a knowledge of history. In India 82 percent are people following VEDIC CULTURE. Medieval and ancient world didn't think that way. Recall what Jha wrote about this text: and the Tibetan text Pag Sam Jon Zang refers to the burning of the library of Nalanda by some Hindu fanatics., And now turn to what Yadava wrote about this very text: The Tibetan text Pag Sam Jon Zang contains a [I am leaving out a word] tradition of the burning of the library of Nalanda by some Hindu fanatics., Close enough to pass for plagiarism? How History Was Unmade At Nalanda! The invaders made no difference between Brahminic or Buddhist sites. Buddhism survived in Gilgit and Baltistan until 1314th century, perhaps slightly longer in the nearby Swat Valley. Babasaheb Ambedkar also pointed out this limitation of ascetic Buddhism, which divorced itself from Buddhas gospel of serving society beyond personal practices. see China instead, how widely buddhism fluorished there. Sanderson, Alexis. All this happened around the year 1197 AD. [120], According to a 2010 Pew estimate, the total Buddhist population had increased to about 10 million in the nations created from British India. Yet, the picture of the past that Part I and Part II create is far removed from the one Jha paints contestations that often snowballed into violence, destruction and appropriation of places of worship of those sects that lost royal patronage, as Buddhism and Jainism gradually did. [102] Inscriptions at Bodh Gaya show that the Mahabodhi temple was in some use till 14th century. Help us increase our readership.If you are enjoying reading Janata Weekly, Bronkhorst argues that these somewhat drastic changes "took them far from the ideas and practices they had adhered to during the early centuries of their religion, and dangerously close to their much-detested rivals. Clarification - The Hindu During a recent excavation in Bihar, Krimila, a religious and administrative centre, was unearthed. I was amused to read ' How History was Made up at Nalanda ' by Arun Shourie who has dished out to readers . The total complex had around 10,000 residents. No exception to the caste of Victor. This rancour resulted in attacks and the appropriation of Buddhist and Jain sacred places. Brahmins are pissed off here but its true guys. All India Forum For Right To Education (AIFRTE), Centre for Study of Society And Secularism (CSSS), National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM), The Case of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society Shows Human Rights Are Under Threat in India. It is reported that the three-storey university and its nearby areas burnt for several months, ejecting dark smoke. When he visited Kashmir in 1597, he met with a few old men professing Buddhism, however, he "saw none among the learned". [34][35] This fragmentation of power into feudal kingdoms was detrimental for Buddhism, as royal support shifted towards other communities and Brahmins developed a strong relationship with Indian states. [67][69] With the growing support for Hinduism and Jainism, Buddhist monasteries also gradually lost control of land revenue. So, what is this Tibetan text? We need unbiased narratives. Buddhism, which originated in India, gradually dwindled and was replaced by approximately the 12th century. [24] The reign of the Pala Dynasty (8th to 12th century) saw Buddhism in North India recover due to royal support from the Palas who supported various Buddhist centers like Nalanda. People like him are fruit of our academic system which teach us to condemn our own religion and culture. His messages carried forward Buddhas Dhamma. Having achieved the sidhi, they threw ashes of a fire puja(havan) they did, on 84 Buddhist shrines. [96] The devastation of agriculture also meant that many laypersons were unable to support Buddhist monks, who were easily identifiable and also vulnerable. Ever since its founding in 1946, Janata has voiced its principled dissent against all conduct and practice that is detrimental to the cherished values of nationalism, democracy, secularism and socialism, while upholding the integrity and the ethical norms of healthy journalism. He further tells us that 1,000 sangharamas in Gandhara were deserted/and in ruins, and describes 1,400 sangharamas in Uddiyana as generally waste and desolate., Then, says Jha, Hsuan Tsang tells us that the king Shashanka of Gauda cut down the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar the place of the Buddhas enlightenment and removed a statue of the Buddha from a local temple, ordering that it be replaced by an image of Maheshvara Bodh Gaya came under Buddhist control again during the period of the Pala rulers, who were Buddhists, and the place has, in fact, remained a site of religious contestation throughout Indian history., Referring to the internationally reputed Buddhist university at Nalanda, especially the its vast monastic complex where Hsuan Tsang spent more than five years, Jha says, its library was set on fire by Hindu fanatics, insisting, The popular view, however, wrongly attributes this conflagration to the Mamluk commander Bakhtiyar Khilji, who never went there, but, in fact, sacked the nearby Odantapuri Mahavihara at modern-day Bihar Sharif., Suspecting that even the Jagannath temple at Puri, one of the most prominent Brahminical pilgrimage centres in eastern India, built in the twelfth century during the reign of the Eastern Ganga ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, is said to have been constructed on a Buddhist site something which may be contested, Jha says, There is hardly any doubt that the temples of Purneshvara, Kedareshvara, Kanteshvara, Someshvara and Angeshvara, all in Puri district, were either built on Buddhist viharas, or made of material derived from them.. Notice, next, that the words Hindu fanatics that Jha had put in quotation marks as if they were the words that the author of the Tibetan text had used to describe the arsonists, were actually the words of his fellow Marxist, Yadava. Be it a propaganda of political or of economical unfolded at all times. His efforts increased awareness and raised funds to recover Buddhist holy sites in British India, such as the Bodh Gaya in India and those in Burma. same goes for muslims. Does And Just Like That signal the end of stealth wealth? "[4], The decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent coincides with the spread of Islam in that part of the world, especially due to the Islamic invasions that occurred in the late 12th century. [119], The Buddhist population in the modern era nation of India grew at a decadal rate of 22.5% between 1901 and 1981, due to birth rates and conversions, or about the same rate as Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, but faster than Christianity (16.8%), and slower than Islam (30.7%). No one should be shocked. 7.-Distribution of Population according to Religion (Census of 1911), "Population by religion community 2011", "Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre website", Archaeology and Protestant Presuppositions in the Study of Indian Buddhism, Commerce and Culture in South Asia: Perspectives from Archaeology and History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Decline_of_Buddhism_in_the_Indian_subcontinent&oldid=1158199892, 2nd half of the 15th century, monk Budhagupta from South India, 1773 Trung Rampa, a representative of the, This page was last edited on 2 June 2023, at 15:14. Most of these exiles live in Upper Dharamsala, or McLeod Ganj, where they established monasteries, temples, and schools. How History Was Unmade At Nalanda! D N Jha - KAFILA After the collapse of monastic Buddhism, Buddhist sites were abandoned or reoccupied by other religious orders. Nothing provided here is first hand or second hand evidence. A comprehensive report by this newspaper tells the story of the history of the region and its influence on the world through its Buddhist records. Period. The underplaying of religious violence is equally true of Part II, which mostly deals with the Muslim rulers who came later. Brahmin supremacists' ass burned in the comment section. The enormous amount of gold and other ornaments hide the face and body of Balaji, he said. [17][18][19], Chinese scholars traveling through the region between the 5th and 8th centuries, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, Hui-sheng, and Sung-Yun, began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist Sangha in the Northwestern parts of Indian subcontinent, especially in the wake of the Hun invasion from central Asia in the 6th century CE. and yet could not destroy a hair of hindus?? They wont join communal forces: Ali Anwar. One round was occasioned by the fluctuating relations between Khunimamasta, a king of Taksig (Turkistan? His book myth of Holy cow is the best example of his poor knowledge in sanskrit and Indian culture . Also the claim that there were "thousands" of Buddhist stupas and other structures is a Buddhist claim and cannot be verified from neutral or non-Buddhist sources. [43], In ancient India, regardless of the religious beliefs of their kings, states usually treated all the important sects relatively even-handedly. The ransacking is described in the contemporary Tabakat-i-Nasiri by Maulana Minhaj-ud-din. These facts seem to be at odds with Indias school-level history textbooks, which have been written at least until recently to promote what Delhi University professor Upinder Singh in her recent book Political Violence in Ancient India described as the idealised Nehru model of the ancient Indian pastone in which Buddhism, Ashoka, nonviolence, and cosmopolitanism had a pride of place. Of these, about 7.2% lived in Bangladesh, 92.5% in India and 0.2% in Pakistan. Whatever we have today in Brahminism is a twisted history of Buddhas work. [5] Religious competition with other Indic religions and later Islam were also important factors. India is an ancient country where VEDAS originated ( words from God himself) and Bhagavath githa is 6500 years old. Illiterate epsilon-minuses. [3], According to William Johnston, hundreds of Buddhist monasteries and shrines were destroyed, Buddhist texts were burnt by the armies, monks and nuns killed during the 12th and 13th centuries in the Gangetic plains region. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Buddhism survived until 1516th century, as witnessed by the manuscript of the Manjusrimulakalpa. For them, monotheism was the only message. That is the first thingthat strikes one: our historian disregards the contemporaneous account, Tabakat-i-Nasiri, and opts for a text written 500 years after the event. The Islamic invasions plundered wealth and destroyed Buddhist images. Irfan Habib states that while William Henry Lowe assumes the Samanis to be Buddhist monks, they were Jain ascetics. There were a great number of books there; and when all these books came under the observation of the Musalmans, they summoned a number of Hindus that they might give them information respecting the import of those books; but the whole of the Hindus had been killed. By the eleventh century, Pala rule had weakened, however. Dozen starvation deaths in Jharkhand "suggests" go Dalits, tribals, OBCs, 78% of India, get 37% of lo CEA Arvind Subramanian, who once called Modi "medi Beijing-backed, India-supported infra bank lacks c We vs them? DO FORWARD THE WEEKLY MAIL to your mailing list(s) and invite people for free subscription of magazine. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities. Secularism is a modern concept. With the Islamic invasion and expansion, and central Asians adopting Islam, the trade route-derived financial support sources and the economic foundations of Buddhist monasteries declined, on which the survival and growth of Buddhism was based. Magazine And Thus Fell Nalanda by Makarand Paranjape - Mar 9, 2018 09:10 PM +05:30 IST Ruins of Nalanda University (Mrityunjay.nalanda/Wiki Commons) Snapshot The helplessness of the Indic. The Sultan razed the generous past of the Buddhist cosmology. Here it is: Further, the Tibetan tradition informs us that Kalacuri Karna (11th century) destroyed many Buddhist temples and monasteries in Magadha., Jha has clearly lifted what Yadava wrote word for word at least he has been faithful to his source. I reproduce the translation of it by Geshe Dorji Damdul in full: Again at that time, there was a scholar by the name Mutita Bhadra, who was greatly involved in renovating and building stupas. Where is the primary source of your propogandist narrative? Vidyadhar Joharapurkar, in Anekanta, June 1963, pp. [72][73] The Persian traveller Al Biruni's memoirs suggest Buddhism had vanished from Ghazni (Afghanistan) and medieval Punjab region (northern Pakistan) by early 11th century. The Buddhist university of Nalanda was mistaken for a fort because of the walled campus. From 986 CE, the Turks started raiding northwest India from Afghanistan, plundering western India early in the eleventh century. The walled town, the Odantapuri monastery, was also conquered by his forces. The site is located about 95 kilometres southeast of Patna, and was a centre of learning from the fifth century CE to c. 1200 CE when it was destroyed by an army of the Muslim Mamluk Dynasty under Bakhtiyar Khilji. And, the final nail on the buddhist coffin WAS contributed to by Turkic and Afghani islamist invaders as well Why hide behind anonimity? After all truth prevails.Always support Truth.Because manipulated and fabricated things to protect any culture or religion will not work. It survived in the Kashmir Valley at least until the introduction of Islam in 1323 by the Ladakhi Rinchana, who as King of Kashmir converted to Islam, and even beyond, into the 15th century, when King Zain ul Abidin (14191470) had a Buddhist minister. For example, Odantapuri's monasteries were destroyed in 1197 by Mohammed-bin-Bakhtiyar and the town was renamed. Sumpa basing his account on that of kyarbhadra who was at Magadha in 1200, states that the Buddhist university complexes of Odantapuri and Vikramshila were also destroyed and the monks massacred. Tibetan exiles numbering several thousand have since settled in the town. That is why it is no accident that Samrat Ashokas legacy remains not fully known. Peter Harvey concludes: Between the alien, with their doctrinal justification of "holy war" to spread the faith, and Hindus, closely identified with Indian culture and with a more entrenched social dimension, the Buddhists were squeezed out of existence. Hindutva ideologues have exploited this myth to portray the iconoclasm of Muslim rulers as a total reversal of Indias civilisational norms. Mahayana Buddhism reached its zenith during the Pala dynasty period, a dynasty that ended with the Islamic invasion of the Gangetic plains. Implicitly, therefore, Against the Grain highlights the problems of writing history, especially for schoolchildren. It does mention jizya, which is defined as a tax paid by followers of revealed scriptures, such as the Jews and Christians for gaining the right to be protected by Muslims. The Buddhist monks who had been slaughtered were mistaken for Brahmins according to Minhaj-i-Siraj. [34] Rural and devotional movements arose within Hinduism, along with Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Bhakti and Tantra,[34] that competed with each other, as well as with numerous sects of Buddhism and Jainism. What did Yadava himself write? The reason these were left unharmed was because they were "not material legitimations of rival royal families". In this environment, without monasteries and scholastic centers of their own, Buddhist ascetics and laypersons were eventually absorbed into the religious life of medieval India.[98]. Some hidden agenda for sure. [49][50][51][52][53][54], Elements which medieval Hinduism adopted during this time included vegetarianism, a critique of animal sacrifices, a strong tradition of monasticism (founded by figures such as Shankara) and the adoption of the Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. We now come to the crucial passage, the one that Jha has ostensibly invoked. Alternately, you can silently ignore it as if it doesn't exist like the Brahmins. However, the two died due to immolation, which happened on its own.. The author is giving an accountof how Dharma has survived three rounds of destructive attempts. Buddhism, therefore, died out in all but the fringes of its homeland, though it had long since spread beyond it. Why it cannot be other way? [69][89] The arrival of Islam removed the royal patronage to the monastic tradition of Buddhism, and the replacement of Buddhists in long-distance trade by the eroded the related sources of patronage. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Forced conversions to Islam were made, and Buddhist images smashed, due to the Islamic dislike of idolatry. Their relations with other traditions, such as Buddhism and Jainism, were also often fraught with tension if not open conflict, the passage notes. [9] The successful expansion of Buddhism depended on the growing economy of the time, together with an increase in the number of centralised political organisations capable of change. [96] The last abbot of Bodh Gaya Mahavihara was Sariputra who was active during the 14th and 15th centuries before he left India for Nepal. Whoever, had the power propagated his religion by destroying the vanquished. [87], The north-west parts of the Indian subcontinent fell to Islamic control, and the consequent take over of land holdings of Buddhist monasteries removed one source of necessary support for the Buddhists, while the economic upheaval and new taxes on laity sapped the laity support of Buddhist monks. Shodha Tippana, Pro. [64], Numerous copper plate inscriptions from India as well as Tibetan and Chinese texts suggest that the patronage of Buddhism and Buddhist monasteries in medieval India was interrupted in periods of war and political change, but broadly continued in Hindu kingdoms from the start of the common era through the early first millennium CE. It is also against national interest and the interest of science. This is what we saw Jha saying: A Tibetan tradition has it that the Kalacuri King Karna (11th century) destroyed many Buddhist temples and monasteries in Magadha, and the Tibetan text Pag Sam Jon Zang refers to the burning ofthe library of Nalanda by some Hindu fanatics., As his authority, Jha cites a book by B.N.S. The total complex had around 10,000 residents. We have secularism today, how can anyone under any PM even dare to destroy any religious structure. Revisiting Buddhas past is to pay a tribute to our ancestors who were tied to the Dhamma. This article first appeared in the print edition on February 7, 2021, under the title Revisiting Indias Buddhist past. Sorry, but this article is light weight. [85] Tibetan pilgrim Chjepal (11791264), who arrived in India in 1234,[86] had to flee advancing troops multiple times, as they were sacking Buddhist sites. Buddhism was never religion of people in whole south east Asia,with India , Cambodia Thailand etc(in Thailand and Cambodia it became after 13 th century). ): "A Short Biography of Four Tibetan Lamas and Their Activities in Sikkim", in: Islamic destruction of Buddhist temples, shrines, and institutions, religious persecutions perpetrated by Muslim invaders, Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, List of converts to Buddhism from Hinduism, Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent, Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques, Religion population totals in 2010 by Country, "The Geography of Buddhist Pilgrimage in Asia", "Historical Development of Buddhism in India Buddhism under the Guptas and Palas", "Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana? Once upon a time Buddhism and Jainism flourished in Tamilnadu. "Smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pall over the low hills," wrote contemporary historian Minhaj-I-Siraj in his Tabaqat-i Nasiri. Ten-day Vipassan meditation courses are regularly conducted free of charge at the Dhamma Pattana Meditation Centre that is part of the Global Vipassana Pagoda complex. how even are this people called scholars and how is their knowledge trustable??? Yes its is true that there has been much caste oppression however, never was there such directed barbarism towards Buddhists by Sanatani. [56] According to Bronkhorst, this move to the Sanskrit cultural world also brought with it numerous Brahmanical norms which now were adopted by the Sanskrit Buddhist culture (one example is the idea present in some Buddhist texts that the Buddha was a Brahmin who knew the Vedas). By Rosamma Thomas* Mahatma Gandhi had plans for an independent India, and called a meeting at Wardha in Maharashtra on February 2, 1948 of workers who planned to collaborate for the achievement of Swaraj (self-rule) through the philosophy of Sarvodaya (universal uplift).