{"id":854,"date":"2014-01-01T11:15:50","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T11:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/01\/were-buddhists-persecuted-by-hindus\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T06:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T06:42:40","slug":"were-buddhists-persecuted-by-hindus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/01\/were-buddhists-persecuted-by-hindus\/","title":{"rendered":"Were Buddhists persecuted by Hindus?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Neer Mohammed<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Intolerance towards Buddhists<\/h3>\n

The Brahmanical hostility towards Buddhism was a major reason of the decline of Buddhism in India, the place of its birth. It is quite true that at a later date the Brahmins accepted Buddha as one of the avataras but it was just another srewd Brahmin way of showing contempt towards the Buddha. The Hindus never really showed any friendly attitude towards the followers of the religion of the Buddha, as it shown from various historical records. The Bramins first sowed the seeds of hatred towards the Buddhists in their scriptures to gain the sympatheis of the common people in slaughtering Buddhists.
\n
\nIn the Ayodhya Kaanda of Valmiki Ramayana, a Buddhist was compared to a thief and the Tathagatas to atheists (Naastiks). It said:
\n\u092f\u0925\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u0939\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u094b\u0930\u00a0<\/b>\u0938\u094d\u0938\u00a0<\/b>\u0924\u0925\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u0939\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u092c\u0941\u0926\u094d\u0927-
\n<\/b>\u0938\u094d\u0924\u0925\u093e\u0917\u0924\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u0928\u093e\u0938\u094d\u0924\u093f\u0915\u092e\u0924\u094d\u0930\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u0926\u094d\u0927\u093f\u0964<\/b><\/p>\n

As a thief, so is Buddha. Know that Tathagatas are atheists. [Sarga 109; shloka 34]<\/blockquote>\n

The Yajnavalkya Smriti says that\u00a0the very sight of a monk with red robes and shaven head (referring to Buddhists), even in a dream, is a bad sign. [Yajnavalkya SmritiI\/272-273]\nThe Agni Purana[16\/1-3] and Vishnu Purana[18\/13-18] refer to\u00a0Buddha as an embodiment of Grand Deception (m\u0101yamohasvarup)\u00a0and that he deluded the people from the Vedic Religion.\u00a0 His path is a sure ticket to hell.
\nThe great philosopher of Hinduism, Shankaracharya, said that the Buddha was suffering from what we know as schizophrenia. Shankaracharya said that<\/p>\n

\u201che (Buddha) was a man given to make incoherent assertions or else that hatred of all beings<\/strong>\u00a0induced him to propound absurd doctrines by accepting which they would become thoroughly confused.\u2013So that\u2013and this the S\u00fbtra means to indicate\u2013Buddha\u2019s doctrine has to be entirely disregarded by all those who have a regard for their own happiness.\u201d
\n[Shankar Bhashya on Brahmasutra 2\/2\/32]<\/blockquote>\n

The writer of\u00a0Saankhyakaarika<\/em>, Vachaspati Mishra, uses the words\u00a0\u2018Mleccha (filthy)\u2019, Purushaapsad (low people) and PashuPraay (Animal like)\u00a0<\/strong>for Buddhists, Jains, etc. He writes:
\n\u0906\u092a\u094d\u0924\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0939\u0923\u0947\u0928\u093es<\/b>\u092f\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924\u093e\u0903\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u0936\u093e\u0915\u094d\u092f\u092d\u093f\u0915\u094d\u0937\u0941\u0930\u094d\u0928\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0928\u094d\u0925\u0915\u0938\u0902\u0938\u093e\u0930\u092e\u094b\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u0915\u093e\u0926\u0940\u0928\u093e\u092e\u093e\u0917\u092e\u093e\u092d\u093e\u0938\u093e\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0930\u093f\u0939\u0943\u0924\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u092d\u0935\u0928\u094d\u0924\u093f\u00a0.\u00a0<\/b>\u0905\u092f\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924\u0924\u094d\u0935\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u0948\u0924\u0947\u0937\u093e\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u0917\u093e\u0928\u093e\u0924\u094d,\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u091a\u094d\u091b\u0928\u094d\u0928\u00a0<\/b>\u092e\u0942\u0932\u0924\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0924\u094d,\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u094d\u0930\u092e\u093e\u0923\u0935\u093f\u0930\u0941\u0926\u094d\u0927\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0925\u093e\u092d\u093f\u0927\u093e\u0928\u093e\u0924\u094d\u00a0<\/b>\u0915\u0948\u0936\u093f\u091a\u0926\u0947\u0935\u00a0<\/b>\u092e\u0932\u0947\u091a\u094d\u091b\u093e\u0926\u093f\u092d\u093f\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0937\u093e\u092a\u0938\u0926\u0948\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0936\u0941\u092a\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092f\u0948\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0930\u093f\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0939\u093e\u0926\u094d\u00a0<\/b>\u092c\u094b\u0926\u094d\u0927\u0935\u094d\u092f\u092e\u094d\u00a0.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBy saying \u2018true revelation\u2019, all pretended revelations such as those of Shaakya, Bhikshu (Buddha),etc have been set aside. The invalidity of these systems is due to their making unreasonable assertions, to want of sufficient basis, to their making statements contradictory to proofs, and lastly\u00a0to their being accepted only by\u00a0Mlecchas, or by mean men or by animal like people<\/strong>. \u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Were Buddhists persecuted by Hindus? Yes, they were<\/h3>\n

Buddhism suffered a great decline owing to the hostile activities of some philosphers of Brahminical thought and preachers of South India. Kumarila Bhatta was regarded as the fiercest critic of Buddhism. He was the strongest protagonist of Vedic ritualism. Kumarila is said to have been a Brahmin of Bihar who raged with the ardour to preach against Buddhism. The\u00a0Shankar Digvijaya<\/strong><\/em>of Madhava (earliest authentic biography of Shankaracharya) refers to Malayali King Sudhanva\u2019s brutal extermination of Buddhists at the instigation of Kumarila Bhatta.<\/p>\n

Intolerance towards Buddhists<\/h3>\n

The Brahmanical hostility towards Buddhism was a major reason of the decline of Buddhism in India, the place of its birth. It is quite true that at a later date the Brahmins accepted Buddha as one of the avataras but it was just another srewd Brahmin way of showing contempt towards the Buddha. The Hindus never really showed any friendly attitude towards the followers of the religion of the Buddha, as it shown from various historical records. The Bramins first sowed the seeds of hatred towards the Buddhists in their scriptures to gain the sympatheis of the common people in slaughtering Buddhists.
\nIn the Ayodhya Kaanda of Valmiki Ramayana, a Buddhist was compared to a thief and the Tathagatas to atheists (Naastiks). It said:
\n\u092f\u0925\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u0939\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u094b\u0930\u00a0<\/b>\u0938\u094d\u0938\u00a0<\/b>\u0924\u0925\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u0939\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u092c\u0941\u0926\u094d\u0927-
\n<\/b>\u0938\u094d\u0924\u0925\u093e\u0917\u0924\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u0928\u093e\u0938\u094d\u0924\u093f\u0915\u092e\u0924\u094d\u0930\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u0926\u094d\u0927\u093f\u0964<\/b><\/p>\n

As a thief, so is Buddha. Know that Tathagatas are atheists. [Sarga 109; shloka 34]<\/blockquote>\n

The Yajnavalkya Smriti says that\u00a0the very sight of a monk with red robes and shaven head (referring to Buddhists), even in a dream, is a bad sign. [Yajnavalkya SmritiI\/272-273]\nThe Agni Purana[16\/1-3] and Vishnu Purana[18\/13-18] refer to\u00a0Buddha as an embodiment of Grand Deception (m\u0101yamohasvarup)\u00a0and that he deluded the people from the Vedic Religion.\u00a0 His path is a sure ticket to hell.
\nThe great philosopher of Hinduism, Shankaracharya, said that the Buddha was suffering from what we know as schizophrenia. Shankaracharya said that<\/p>\n

\u201che (Buddha) was a man given to make incoherent assertions or else that hatred of all beings<\/strong>\u00a0induced him to propound absurd doctrines by accepting which they would become thoroughly confused.\u2013So that\u2013and this the S\u00fbtra means to indicate\u2013Buddha\u2019s doctrine has to be entirely disregarded by all those who have a regard for their own happiness.\u201d
\n[Shankar Bhashya on Brahmasutra 2\/2\/32]<\/blockquote>\n

The writer of\u00a0Saankhyakaarika<\/em>, Vachaspati Mishra, uses the words\u00a0\u2018Mleccha (filthy)\u2019, Purushaapsad (low people) and PashuPraay (Animal like)\u00a0<\/strong>for Buddhists, Jains, etc. He writes:
\n\u0906\u092a\u094d\u0924\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0939\u0923\u0947\u0928\u093es<\/b>\u092f\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924\u093e\u0903\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u0936\u093e\u0915\u094d\u092f\u092d\u093f\u0915\u094d\u0937\u0941\u0930\u094d\u0928\u093f\u00a0<\/b>\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0928\u094d\u0925\u0915\u0938\u0902\u0938\u093e\u0930\u092e\u094b\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u0915\u093e\u0926\u0940\u0928\u093e\u092e\u093e\u0917\u092e\u093e\u092d\u093e\u0938\u093e\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0930\u093f\u0939\u0943\u0924\u093e\u00a0<\/b>\u092d\u0935\u0928\u094d\u0924\u093f\u00a0.\u00a0<\/b>\u0905\u092f\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924\u0924\u094d\u0935\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u091a\u0948\u0924\u0947\u0937\u093e\u0902\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u0917\u093e\u0928\u093e\u0924\u094d,\u00a0<\/b>\u0935\u093f\u091a\u094d\u091b\u0928\u094d\u0928\u00a0<\/b>\u092e\u0942\u0932\u0924\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0924\u094d,\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u094d\u0930\u092e\u093e\u0923\u0935\u093f\u0930\u0941\u0926\u094d\u0927\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0925\u093e\u092d\u093f\u0927\u093e\u0928\u093e\u0924\u094d\u00a0<\/b>\u0915\u0948\u0936\u093f\u091a\u0926\u0947\u0935\u00a0<\/b>\u092e\u0932\u0947\u091a\u094d\u091b\u093e\u0926\u093f\u092d\u093f\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0937\u093e\u092a\u0938\u0926\u0948\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0936\u0941\u092a\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092f\u0948\u0903\u00a0<\/b>\u092a\u0930\u093f\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0939\u093e\u0926\u094d\u00a0<\/b>\u092c\u094b\u0926\u094d\u0927\u0935\u094d\u092f\u092e\u094d\u00a0.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBy saying \u2018true revelation\u2019, all pretended revelations such as those of Shaakya, Bhikshu (Buddha),etc have been set aside. The invalidity of these systems is due to their making unreasonable assertions, to want of sufficient basis, to their making statements contradictory to proofs, and lastly\u00a0to their being accepted only by\u00a0Mlecchas, or by mean men or by animal like people<\/strong>. \u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kumarila is said to have been a Brahmin of Bihar who raged with the ardour to preach against Buddhism. The\u00a0Shankar Digvijaya<\/strong><\/em>of Madhava (earliest authentic biography of Shankaracharya) refers to Malayali King Sudhanva\u2019s brutal extermination of Buddhists at the instigation of Kumarila Bhatta.<\/p>\n

The king (Sudhanva) commanded his servants \u201ckill all Buddhists from Himalaya to Rameshvaram,\u00a0even children and elderly<\/strong>.\u00a0Whosoever will not kill them, will be killed at my hands.\u201d [93]\nAt the instigation of Kumarila Bhatta,\u00a0the king killed the Buddhists, the opponents (of the Hindu religion) just like a Yogi destroys the disturbances. [95]\n[Madhava-Vidyaranya, Sankara Digvijaya Sarg 1; shlokas 93-95]\n<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This was about Kumarila\u2019s brutal persecution of Buddhists. Now let us turn to Adi Shankaracharya, the Brahmin of South India, who did\u00a0 a great job of glorifying the\u00a0Vedas\u00a0<\/em>and the\u00a0Advaita Vedanta<\/em>\u00a0philosophy. He was vigorously anti-Buddhism. I have already quoted his remarks on Buddha, which show his \u2018regard\u2019 for the Buddhist religion (Refer Shankar Bhasya on Brahmasutra 2\/2\/32). With regards to the Sringeri matha built by Shankaracharya, Sir Charles Eliot in his book\u00a0Hinduism and Buddhism<\/em>\u00a0(1921 Ed. Page 211) says,<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some reason to suppose that the Matha of Sringeri was founded on the site of a Buddhist Monestary\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The 15th Sarga of his biography\u00a0Madhava-Vidyaranya Sankara Digvijay\u00a0<\/em>refers to his campaigns against the Buddhists, being escorted by King Sudhanvan\u2019s army wherever he went from the Himalayas to the India Ocean. Owing to his anti Buddhist activities, Buddhism fell on its evil days.
\nThis royal persecution of Buddhists by some Brahminic rulers was the most potent factor which contributed to bring the decline of Buddhism in India. The\u00a0Budaun Stone Inscription<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>of Lakhanapaala refers to one\u00a0Varamasiva, a Saiva ascetic,\u00a0<\/strong>who destroyed an idol of Buddha in the South (Dakshinapatha) before his arrival in Vodamayuta (Epigraphia Indica vol.1<\/a>, Page 63)
\nA\u00a0Chalukya Inscription<\/strong>\u00a0of 1184 A.D. refers to a feudatory chief,\u00a0Mahaamandaleshvara Viruparasadeva<\/strong>, who is described as a\u2019forest-fire to the Jain religion\u2019, a \u2018destroyer of the Buddha religion\u2019, a \u2018demolisher of Jain basadis\u2019 and \u2018establisher of the Sivalinga-Simhaasana (Shiva Linga Throne).He destroyed several\u00a0samayas\u00a0<\/i>at Pariyalige, Anilevada (Anhilwad), Unukallu (Unkal), Sampagadi (Sampagaon), Ibbaluru (Ablur?), Marudige (Maradigi), Anampur (Alampur), KaTahada (Karad), Kembhavi, Bammakuru and other places. [Annual report of the archaeological survey of India 1929-30<\/a>\u00a0Page 171]\nWe know from the record of the Nalanda Inscription of Vipulasrimitra, that a\u00a0Vangala\u00a0<\/strong>army killed a Buddhist monk namedKarunasrimitra<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0Somapura\u00a0<\/strong>and burnt down his house, which was actually a monastery. [Epigraphia Indica vol.21<\/a>\u00a0Page 97]\nAnother fierce Hindu king who showed his great hostility towards Buddhism was\u00a0Shashanka, the King of Gauda<\/strong>. He was a notable example of anti-Buddhist Brahminical fanaticism. He is said to have\u00a0uprooted the sacred Bodhi-Tree at Bodh-Gaya\u00a0but in order to destroy it totally, he burnt its remains. A Buddha image from a temple east of the Bodhi tree was removed by him and in its place, he installed an image of Siva. [On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India vol. 2<\/a>\u00a0by Thomas Watters, 1905, Pages 115,116]\nThis is corroborated by\u00a0The Life of Hiuen Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li<\/em>\u00a0who mentions that a certain\u00a0Kumaara-Raja<\/strong>\u00a0threatened the monks of Nalanda with a behaviour similar to Shashanka, and with the destruction of the whole monastery unless Hiuen Tsang was sent to his court. Kumara-Raja wrote in his letter,<\/p>\n

\u201cI have again sent a messenger with a written request: If he (Hiuen Tsang) does not\u00a0 come, your disciple will then let the evil portion of himself prevail. In recent times Shanshanka-Raja was equal still to the destruction of the law and uprooted the Bodhi tree. Do you, my Master, suppose that your disciple has no such power as this? If necessary then I will equip my army and elephants, and like the clouds sweep down on and trample to the very dust that monastery of Nalanda. These words\u00a0(are true)\u00a0<\/i>as the sun!\u201d [The Life of Hiuen Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li<\/em><\/a>\u00a0; Translated by Samuel Beal; 1911;\u00a0 Pg. 171]<\/blockquote>\n

Another cruel persecutor of Buddhism was\u00a0Mihirakula<\/strong>, who had occupied the throne of Kashmir.\u00a0Kalhana Pandit<\/strong>, the famous chronicler of Kashmir and the author of\u00a0Rajatarangini<\/em><\/strong>, says that for his atrocities he was like Yama, the god of death. Kalhana describes further: \u201cOne\u2019s tongue would become polluted if one attempted to record his cruelties and evil deeds in detail\u201d [Rajatarangini\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a>I, 289,290 and 304; Translated by M. A. Stein]. From his account it is known that Mihirakula played an important role in the development of Brahmanism. He was a worshipper of Shiva and built a Shiva temple in Srinagara [Rajatarangini<\/em><\/a>\u00a0I, 306; M. A. Stein]. The view that he was a Shaivite is upheld by M. A. Stein as he writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impression which this tradition retained of Mihirakula\u2019s religious propensities, is in full accord with the evidence of his coins which, in the emblems of bull and trident and in the legends of jayatu vrsa, jayatu vrsadhvaja, display a distinct leaning towards Shaivism.\u201d
\n[Rajatarangini<\/strong><\/a>; M. A. Stein; Footnote to I, 289]<\/blockquote>\n

Mihirakula oppressed the Buddhists and behaved with them cruelly. At his instigation not only were many Buddhists murdered but many Stupas, Caityas, Vihaaras, and other Buddhist establishments were destroyed in Punjab and Kashmir. The description of his cruelties as described in the\u00a0Rajatarangini\u00a0<\/em>is corroborated by the description given by Hiuen Tsang in his book\u00a0Si-Yu-Ki<\/em><\/strong>. He writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cHe exterminated the royal family and the chief minister, overthrew stupas, destroyed the sangharamas,\u00a0altogether one thousand six hundred foundations.\u201d
\n[Si-Yu-Ki. Buddhist Records of the Western World<\/a>\u00a0Tr. Samuel Beal, 1969; Book iv, Page 171]<\/blockquote>\n

Mihirakula\u2019s hostility towards the Buddhist was shared by the Shaivite Brahmins. Kalhana comments in the\u00a0Rajatarangini\u00a0<\/em>on the greed of the Brahmins who eagerly accepted grants of land from Mihirakula.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrahmins from Gandhara, resembling himself in their habits and verily themselves the lowest of the twice-born,\u00a0accepted Agraharas from him.\u201d
\n[Rajatarangini<\/em><\/a>\u00a0I, 307; M. A. Stein]<\/blockquote>\n

This shows that the Brahmins were hand in glove with his slaughter of Buddhists and the destruction of the Buddhist establishments. So, the fake polemics of some Hindu writers that Mihirakula was not a Hindu or that his destruction of Buddhists establishments cannot be tied to Hindus are unfounded.
\nAnother hateful persecutor of Buddhists was Pushyamitra Sunga, founder of the Sunga Dynasty. Several Chinese and Japanese historians mention Pushyamitra\u2019s name at the head of the list of persecutors. Buddhist writers portray Pushyanitra as a cruel persecutor of the religion of Sakyamuni (Buddha). Pushyamitra, a militant follower of Brahminism, assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor Brhadratha, capturing the throne of Magadha and founded the Sunga Dynasty. It ruled for a period of one hundred and twelve years.\u00a0 Pushyamitra had to justify his position as head of the Brahmanic reaction by persecuting the Buddhists and destroying Buddhist monasteries on the one hand and restoring the sacrificial ceremonies of the Brahmanic faith on the other, for which his principal helpers were Patanjali and also perhaps Manu, the author of the\u00a0Manusmriti.\u00a0<\/i>who was also his contemporary according to some scholars.\u00a0The persecution of the Buddhists by Pushyamitra, was a logical sequence of the Brahmanic reaction and the political\u00a0coup d\u2019etat<\/em>. The Buddhist text\u00a0Divyavadana\u00a0<\/em>mentions the persecutions of Pushyamitra and his destruction of Buddhist stupas and monasteries. Hindutva apologists such as Dr. Koenraad Elst have tried to refute these charges on Pushyamitra, saying that they are\u00a0\u201crendered improbable by external evidence\u201d. Elst then claims that\u00a0\u201che (Pushyamitra) allowed and patronized the construction of monasteries and Buddhist universities in his domains, as well as the still-extant stupa of Sanchi.\u201d Although he gives no reference for this claim, it is possible that he was referring to the epigraph on the\u00a0gateway of Barhut,<\/strong>\u00a0which mentions its erection \u201cduring the supremacy of the Sungas\u201c. The inscription uses the words\u00a0\u0938\u0941\u0917\u0928\u0902 \u0930\u091c\u0947<\/strong>\u00a0(During the reign of Sungas). It does not necessarily include the reign of Pushyamitra. It only means \u2018during the reign of Sungas\u2019. The gateway was constructed during the reign of his successors who were more tolerant to Buddhism than the founder of the dynasty and leader of the Brahmanic reaction. That the gateways were erected long after the time of Pushyamitra is also the opinion of eminent archaeologists like Mr. N. G. Mazumdar, who writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sungas referred to in this inscription formed a dynasty which was founded by the general (Senapati) Pushyamitra, succeeding the Mauryas about 180 B.C.\u00a0The gateways, however, appear to have been set up about a century later, towards the close o the Sunga period<\/strong>.\u201d
\n[A Guide To The Sculptures In The Indian Museum, Pt.I<\/a>\u00a0N. G. Mazumdar, 1937 Ed., Page 13]<\/blockquote>\n

Dr. Elst also quotes the historian of Buddhism, Etienne Lamotte, who wrote, \u201cTo judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof\u201d. [History of Indian Buddhism, Institut Orientaliste, Louvain-la-Neuve 1988\/1958, p.109] Firstly, this reference is incorrect as the page number is 392. Even then, let me provide the complete quote of Etienne Lamotte. He writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cTo judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof. Nevertheless, as was remarked by H. Kern, in view of the varied opinions,\u00a0it is possible that, in some localities, there may have been pillages of monasteries, perhaps with the tacit permission of the governors<\/strong>. \u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Prominent Indian historian, professor Romila Thapar writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cBuddhist sources claim that they (Sungas) persecuted the Buddhists and destroyed their monasteries and places of worship. This could have been an exaggeration, but archaeological evidence reveals that Buddhist monuments in the Sunga domain were at this time in disrepair and being renovated. However, if the chronology of these monuments shifts forward as is now being suggested, then this would make them post-Sunga renovations.\u00a0Nevertheless, even if some renovations were of a later date, the damage to the stupa at Sanchi, and to the monastery at Kaushambi dates to Shunga times. Added emphasis is given to this from Pushyamitra having performed\u00a0ashvamedhas<\/em>, or horse sacrifices. This is sometimes viewed as indicating support of Vedic Brahmanism and a disapproval of heterodox sects.\u201d
\n[The Penguin History of Early India from the origins to AD 1300, Romila Thapar, 2002 Edition, Pg. 210]<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0This view of Professor Thapar was confirmed when Deorkothar Stupas<\/strong>were excavated by P. K. Mishra (Archaeological Survey of India) in 1999 till 2000. The story about this Stupa was published by P. K. Mishra on the official website of the\u00a0Archaeology<\/em>\u00a0magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America. P. K. Mishra wrote,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe ancient Buddhist text\u00a0Divyavadanam\u00a0<\/em>speaks of the death and destruction brought about by Pushyamitra Sunga, who ruled in the first quarter of the second century B.C., in a bid to glorify Hinduism. During his reign, Buddhist monuments were wantonly destroyed. Although archaeological evidence is meager in this regard,\u00a0it seems likely that the Deorkothar stupa was destroyed as a result of Pushyamitra Sunga\u2019s fanaticism. The exposed remains at Deorkothar bear evidence of deliberate destruction datable to his reign.\u00a0The three-tiered railing is damaged; railing pillars lie, broken to smithereens, on stone flooring. Twenty pieces of pillar have been recovered, each fragment itself fractured. The site offers no indication of natural destruction.\u201d
\n[SOURCE: http:\/\/archive.archaeology.org\/online\/news\/deorkothar\/<\/a> ]<\/blockquote>\n

Etienne Lamotte wrote his book in 1958, when he did not have the new archaeological findings before him. To hang on to his quote is an example of a drowning man clutching at straws.
\nFurther Reading
\nBuddhist scholars have also laid claim to many Hindu temples being original Buddhist Shrines. A book written by Dr. K. Jamnadas was titled\u00a0\u2018Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist Shrine\u2019<\/em>. In this book, the author has given huge stock of evidence to prove that the temple which is today sacred to Hindus was once a Buddhist Shrine. Readers are advised to make up their own mind after reading the book themselves and verifying the proofs.The book can be downloaded from the link\u00a0http:\/\/www.ambedkar.org\/Tirupati\/Tirupati.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Neer Mohammed Intolerance towards Buddhists The Brahmanical hostility towards Buddhism was a major reason of the decline of Buddhism in India, the place of its birth. It is quite true that at a later date the Brahmins accepted Buddha as one of the avataras but it was just another srewd Brahmin way of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[576,581],"tags":[146,184,257,276,292,294,305,316,330,361,491,497,518,547],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-hinduism","category-violence","tag-buddhists","tag-destroy","tag-hindu-kings","tag-iconoclasm","tag-intolerance","tag-invaders","tag-jains","tag-killing","tag-loot","tag-mughal","tag-slaying","tag-stupa","tag-temples","tag-vihara"],"yoast_head":"\nWere Buddhists persecuted by Hindus? - VedKaBhed.Com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/01\/were-buddhists-persecuted-by-hindus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Were Buddhists persecuted by Hindus? - VedKaBhed.Com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Written by Neer Mohammed Intolerance towards Buddhists The Brahmanical hostility towards Buddhism was a major reason of the decline of Buddhism in India, the place of its birth. 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