Rise and fall of Buddhism in Bengal

By P.K.Balachandran

Colombo, March 19: It is noteworthy that among all the regions in India, it was in Bengal that Buddhism survived and flourished for the longest period (till the 12 th. Century CE), well after its disappearance from other parts of India. 

The term “Bengal” used here, includes what is now the Indian State of West Bengal and also Bangladesh.This is because these two areas, which are presently politically distinct, also share a long and continuous history, culture and language.

Defined in this broad way, “Bengal”, has a unique place in the history of Indian Buddhism, says Professor Niru Kumar Chakma of the Department of Philosophy, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in his paper published in the Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 8, Number 1. 2011.

Prof. Chakma cites the reasons for saying so:

(1)     As stated earlier, it in Bengal that Buddhism survived and flourished for the  longest period (till the 12 th. Century CE), well after its disappearance from other parts of India. 

(2)     Bengal is said to be the home of “Tantrik Buddhism” which some consider as a “degenerate” form of Buddhism developed during the rule of the Pala dynasty ( between the 9 th. and the 12th., Century CE). But others have no hesitation in associating  Tantrik Buddhism with the great flowering of art, sculpture and culture during Pala rule when Tantrik Buddhism was at its pinnacle.

(3)     Buddhism was wiped out from India in the !2 th., Century because of the withdrawal of royal support with the decline of the Palas, the simultaneous revival of Brahmanism, and lastly, the Turkish Muslim invasion, in that order.  

Much later, Buddhism saw a resurgence in the eastern part of what is now Bangladesh.There is a small minority of Buddhists inhabiting the Chittagong area, with ancient roots and also with links with the Arakan region of North West Myanmar.

Early Period 

During Gautama Buddha’s time (6th. century BCE) the prevailing faith was the Brahminical Vedic religion centred on rituals and sacrifices (a mixture of nature worship and animal sacrifice). Buddhism debunked these beliefs and practices as meaningless and unproductive and heralded the beginning of systematic religious traditions.

The Magadhan Empire, which as various dynasties, existed between 6th.,Century BCE and 8th., Century CE, in what is now Bihar State in North India, heralded the emergence of strong monarchical States. Emperor Asoka (268 to 232 BCE) belonged to the Magadhan-Mauryan dynasty.

The Magadhan-era also saw the beginning of the history of relations between the State and Religion. The growth of a relationship between Religion and the State was important because it explains the rise and fall of Buddhism in India.  Buddhism rested on State patronage. Withdrawal or weakening of royal or State patronage resulted in the decline of Buddhism.

A strong and stable State structure enabled trade and commerce to flourish and the growth of the economy helped sustain Buddhist monasteries and institutions. Conversely, decline of the State and the economy led to the decline of monasteries and other Buddhist institutions. The number of monks dwindled, their activities became anaemic and adherents of Buddhism withered.

Notable Dynastic supporters

The most notable Royal patrons in the “Buddhist era” were the following: King Bimbisara (543 to 492 BCE) and Ajatasatru (492 BCE to 462 BCE), and Asoka (268 to 232 BCE), all of Magadha; Kanishka (127 to 150 CE) of the Kushan dynasty; Harsavardhana of Thaneswar in what is now Haryana (590 CE to 647 CE) and the Palas of Bengal (8 th., to 12 th., Centuries CE). 

This, however, is not to say that Buddhism received unflinching support from all Indian rulers, even during the Buddhist era.  Pushyamitra of the Sunga dynasty (185 to 75 BCE); Sasanka of the Gauda dynasty (590 and 625 CE), and the Senas of the 11 th. and 12 th.Centuries CE, were very hostile to Buddhism. The Senas were responsible for the collapse of Buddhism in Bengal, its last stronghold in India.

Buddhism was firmly established in Bengal during Mauryan rule in the 3rd.Century BCE as epigraphic and other sources such as the Asokan inscription in the Brahmi script found at Mahasthana in the district of Bogra (northcentral Bengladesh) shows. The Chinese traveller, I-tsing or Yi-jing (635–713 CE) saw Asoka’s stupas in several places such as Tamralipti (Tamluk), Karnasuvarna in West Bengal, Pundravardhana in northern Bengal, and Samatata in eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh).

The Mauryan empire came to an end when its last emperor, Brihadratha, was killed by his commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra (185 BCE 149 BCE), the founder of the Sunga dynasty. That political upheaval proved to be ruinous for Buddhism. It lost its patron and was feeling the brunt of Pushyamitra’s anti-Buddhism. Pushyamitra revived Brahmanical rituals and animal sacrifice. The Sunga ruler was described by the Tibetan historian Taranatha as a tyrant, though R. C. Majumdar argued that some Sunga kings had been quite tolerant of Buddhism. As evidence they point to the gateways constructed by the Sungas at Bharut and Sanchi, major Buddhist places of pilgrimage.

Sanchi, Buddha Gaya and Saranath remained important Buddhist centres during the Sunga period.  Further evidence of the Sungas’ support to Buddhism are the terracotta figurines at various places in West Bengal.

The Guptas

The religious history of India took a turn for the better with the establishment of the Gupta empire which lasted from 3rd century CE to mid- 6th century CE. With Gupta rule came political integration and restoration of political unity in much of India. Remarkable progress in every field of Indian culture was registered. The Gupta period has been called the “golden age” of Indian civilization.

What was significant about Gupta rule in Bengal was that while Brahmanic Vaisnava and Saiva theisms were predominant, Buddhism was also flourishing. The reason was that the Guptas, while patronizing Brahmanism, showed a marked tolerance and even sympathy towards Buddhism. One reason for this was that the Guptas began to consider the Buddha an avatar of Vishnu by the middle of the Sixth century CE.

But the post-Gupta period also saw repression and persecution very similar to what Buddhism had encountered at the hands of Pushyamitra in the second century BC. Several political powers emerged at this time, of which the Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar in north India and two independent kingdoms, Gauda and Banga, in Bengal, are worth special mention from Buddhism’s point of view.

Buddhists were persecuted by King Sasanka of Gauda. According to Chinese traveller Huien Tsang (or Huanzang), Sasanka ordered the extermination of Buddhist monks, cutting down of the Mahabodhi tree at Gaya, removing the Buddha images from the Mahabodhi temple and replacing them with those of Siva.

By contrast, Harsavardhana (606 to 647 CE) of Thaneswar (now Tanesar in Haryana State) rejuvenated and helped Buddhism emerge as a cultural force of India and Bengal. Originally a worshiper of Siva and Surya, Harsavardhana, like Ashoka and Kanishka, became a devout Buddhist. The contributions of Harsavardhana as a Buddhist emperor to the promotion of Buddhism included building monasteries at Buddhist sacred places, erecting a thousand stupas on the banks of the Ganges, and banning the slaying of animals.

His activities also included building hospitals and rest houses, construction of highways, planting trees and digging tanks and wells and, most importantly, convening conferences of Buddhist scholars.

Harshavardhana is believed to have established his supremacy over Gauda (northwestern Bengal) either after defeating Sasanka or taking it after Sasanka’s death.

Rise of Palas and Tantrik Buddhism

The next remarkable event in the history of Buddhism in Bengal was the rise of the Pala dynasty that ruled from the middle of the eighth Century CE to the latter half of the twelfth century CE. Pala rule brought political stability to Bengal. The Palas were also the last Buddhist dynasty to rule Bengal and the only dynasty in India to have reigned for a period of four hundred years.

Pala rule is held to be responsible for the rise of “Tantric Buddhism”. There are two lines of thought on Tantrik Buddhism. Prof. Chakma quotes Charles Eliot who branded Tantric Buddhism as degenerate, decadent and corrupt, and attributed it to the Pala period. But Trevor Ling said that the Buddhism of the Pala period was no different from the classical Buddhism prevailing during the Asokan period.

Quoting Barrie Morrison, Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Taranatha, Trevor Ling said that the Pala period was an era of progress in culture, religion, education, literature, art and sculpture. The Pala kings played a pioneering role in promoting Bengali language and literature.

The earliest specimens of Bengali literature, known as Charya-padas, are a Tantric work of twenty-two Buddhist Tantric Acharyas known as Siddhas. The principal Acharyas were Naropada, Tilopada, Luipada, Kahnupada, Saraha, Nagarjuna, Kukkuri, Dambi and Indrabhuti.

As regards the origin of Tantrism, there are conflicting views. H. P. Sastri, P.C. Bagchi, and Wayman assign a Greco-Roman origin. But L. M. Joshi, Gopinath Kaviraja and John George Woodroffe trace Tantrism to pre-Buddhist religious practices in India. Other scholars, such as Moriz Winternitz, B.Bhattacharya and Sushil Kumar De, trace it folk religions in Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Tantric Buddhism emphasized mystic syllables (mantras), magical diagrams (yantras), ritualistic circles (mandalas), physical gestures (mudras), spells (dharanis) and other strange and sexo-yogic practices.

The earliest form of Tantric Buddhism is believed to be Mantrayana, deriving its name from the word ‘mantra.’ In course of time, the cult assumed other forms, namely, Vajrayana, Sahajayana and Kalacakrayana. Over time, Tantric Buddhism got merged into Saktism with its focus on female worship.

The fusion of Buddhist mysticism with Saktism gave rise to other popular cults, namely, Kaula, Nathism, Avadhuta, Sahajiya and Baul. It is through these newer, marginal and folk religious movements, that Buddhist mysticism spread and survived for centuries.

The Pala era may also be regarded as the golden age of Buddhism in Bengal. Copper-plates and inscriptions are evidence of Buddhism receiving lavish patronage from the Pala kings. The Palas established Buddhist schools, built the great Odantapuri Vihara, the Vikramsila Vihara, the Somapura Vihara at Paharpur in Rajshahi district of Bangladesh . These Viharas facilitated the study of Buddhist philosophy. 

The Vikramsila Vihar, which was transformed into a famous international centre of learning, attracted Tibetan scholars who wrote numerous books in Sanskrit and translated them into Tibetan.

Pala rule came to an end with the death of its last king, Rampala, and with it, Buddhism lost royal patronage for good.

Other Reasons for Buddhism’s Decline

There were another factors which led to Buddhism’s decline in Bengal. Buddhism had no domestic rituals to satisfy the mundane aspirations of the common people. But Brahmanical Hinduism with its rituals was able to attract common people yearning for divine support to face their mundane problems and aspirations.

But the severest blow to Buddhism was delivered by Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turkish soldier of fortune whose plundering raids led to the subjugation of Bihar and Bengal, the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and the killing of Buddhist monks.

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