Central Asia in the late first millennium C.E. Buddhism
in the Northwest gradually declined as lay support di-
minished and Hinduism and Islam eventually became
more prevalent.
Discoveries of inscribed reliquaries and archeolog-
ical excavations of stupas and monasteries provide ma-
terial evidence for a wide spectrum of Buddhist
practices in Northwest India. A growing number of
Kharosthinscriptions record the donation of reli-
quaries containing physical relics (s ́arlra). Stupas built
to enclose these relics replicated the presence of the
Buddha. The primary STUPAwas typically surrounded
by smaller stupas and columns, which often contained
secondary relic deposits. Permanent Buddhist monas-
tic structures consisting of cells for monks and nuns
around open rectangular courtyards were usually built
near stupas. Such Buddhist sacred complexes were of-
ten decorated with stone and stucco sculptures. Art
produced by Gandharan workshops incorporated In-
dian, Iranian, and Hellenistic elements in distinctive
iconographic patterns. Gandharan Buddhist art of the
Northwest continued to have an impact on Buddhist
artistic traditions of Central Asia and China, where
worship of images played a prominent role in popu-
lar practice.
Several narratives associated with the Buddha’s pre-
vious lives have Northwest India as their setting, al-
though the historical Buddha did not visit this region
during his lifetime. The earliest conversion of Kash-
mir, the Indus valley, and Gandhara to Buddhism is
attributed to a disciple of ANANDAnamed Madhyan-
tika (Pali, Majjhantika). MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST
SCHOOLSin Northwest India included S ́ravakayana (or
HINAYANA) sects that were active in the transmission
of Buddhism to Central Asia and China. Kharosth
inscriptions record donations of relics, images, water
pots, utensils, and other gifts to teachers of the DHAR-
MAGUPTAKA, Sarvastivadin, MAHASAMGHIKA, Mahs ́a-
saka, and Kas ́yapya schools. For example, a clay pot
dedicated to the Dharmaguptakas contained early
Buddhist manuscripts from the first century C.E.An-
other collection of Buddhist manuscripts from the sec-
ond or third to seventh centuries C.E. may have come
from the library of a Mahasamghika monastery in
Bamiyan. Parts of the MULASARVASTIVADA-VINAYAare
preserved among Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts from
the sixth to seventh centuries C.E. found near Gilgit in
the 1930s. Manuscripts from Bamiyan and Gilgit in-
clude several MAHAYANAtexts, which are apparently
absent in earlier Kharosth manuscript collections.
Further research in the relationships between Buddhist
manuscripts from the Northwest and Buddhist texts
translated into Chinese and Central Asian languages
should clarify patterns of textual transmission.
With new discoveries of Buddhist inscriptions and
manuscripts and additional excavations of Buddhist
sites in northwestern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan,
it is becoming increasingly clear that the northwestern
borderlands of Kashmir, Gandhara, and Bactria linked
older Buddhist communities in the Indian homeland
with those developing in Central Asia during the first
millennium C.E. Therefore, the Northwest played a
critical role in the movement of Buddhist institutions,
ideas, and practices beyond the Indian subcontinent to
Central Asia and China.See also:Gandharl, Buddhist Literature in; Hinduism
and Buddhism; India; India, Buddhist Art in; India,
South; Islam and Buddhism; Sarvastivada and
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