Buddhism in India

The Defeat of Buddhism in India 161

to base itself in the practical aspects of popular life; the life-rituals

of even Buddhist families were handled by Brahmans. Thus the

Buddha could be re-interpreted as the ninth avatarof Vishnu, while

his teachings were ignored. When the Muslim invasions came, the

final blow was dealt to this nearly vanished Buddhism, vulnerable

because of its lack of support in the life of the people and its

centralisation in the monasteries (Basham 1958: 265–66).

These familiar themes are given a Marxist interpretation by

D.D. Kosambi, in an article originally written in 1956, where he

argues in terms of the changing connection with the relations of pro-

duction (i.e., the economic functions of Buddhism and Hinduism):

The major civilizing function of Buddhism had ended by the seventh

century AD. The ahimsa doctrine was universally admitted, if not

practised. Vedic sacrifices had been abandoned...the new problem

was to induce docility in the village cultivators, without an excessive

use of force. This was done by religion, but not by Buddhism. The

new class structure in the villages appeared as caste, always scorned

by the Buddhists. Primitive tribesmen were enrolled as new castes.

Both tribesman and peasant relied heavily on ritual, which the

Buddhist monk was forbidden to practice; ritual remained a mono-

poly of the Brahman. Moreover, the Brahmin at that time was a pio-

neer who could stimulate production, for he had a good working

calendar for predicting the times of ploughing, sowing, harvesting. He

knew something of new crops and trade possibilities. He was not a

drain upon production as had been his sacrificing ancestors, or the

large Buddhist monasteries. A compromise could also be effected by

making the Buddha an avatar of Visnu. So, formal Buddhism faded

away (Kosambi 1986: 66).

To substantiate his accusation of decadence, he writes, referring to

a description by Hsuan Tsang:

The sangha now depended on the higher classes, without the mini-

mum contact with the common people which was needed even to

serve those higher classes well. A tooth-relic of the Buddha was exhib-

ited at the fee of one gold piece. Naturally, prophecies were current of

the end of the religion, when such and such an image should have

sunk out of sight into the soil. That the religion itself had already sunk

virtually out of sight in the mire of wealth and superstition would

seem clear to modern eyes not blinded by faith (Kosambi 1975:

315–16).

many) of families settled. They are of an unfeeling and hasty temper

and are given to bloodshed only. They give themselves exclusively to

tending cattle, and from this derive their livelihood. They have no

masters, and, whether men or women, have neither rich nor poor;

they shave their heads and wear the robes of Bhikshus, whom they

resemble outwardly, whilst they engage themselves in the ordinary

affairs of lay life (II: 273).

From Sindh Hsuan Tsang went nearly 200 miles to Multan, where
there were no Buddhists but many who ‘sacrifice to spirits’; he
found also a ‘very magnificent’ temple to the Sun there (II: 274).
His further travels through what is now Pakistan found a fair
number of Buddhists and many Shaivites at some places, but only
after going northwest and ‘traversing great mountains and crossing
wide valleys’ for some 400 miles, did he consider himself to have
left the frontiers of India (II: 282).
This was an impressive round through the subcontinent. The
Buddhist presence was strong even at his time. But clearly,
Buddhism was on the retreat. While there were still many strong-
holds of the Dhamma, there is a persisting image of abandoned and
dilapidated monasteries with few bhikkus remaining. It appears that
at the time of Hsuan Tsang, after a millennia-long historical con-
flict, Brahmanism had emerged dominant. Buddhism was declining
and it would, within centuries, vanish from the land of its origin.
Why did this happen?

Interpretations of

the Decline of Buddhism

The prevailing picture of the decline of Buddhism in India is
summed up by A.L. Basham, whose classic study argues that per-
secution played only a minor role; rather the major factor was a
reformed religion which we can now call ‘Hinduism’, which trans-
formed worship of Shiva and Vishnu (the latter in various avatars
which could absorb local deities) into objects of fervent devotion.
Backed by the aggressive campaigning and institution-building of
Sankara, this revived Hinduism confronted a Buddhism that cen-
tered in the monasteries, had become weak, even decadent. Though
it had theoretically, and for some time in practice as well, been a
separate religion, challenging caste and denying the Vedas, it failed

160 Buddhism in India