Logo

With the revival of Brahmanical Hinduism sometime around the fifth century AD, Buddhism had been dying out in India. But paradoxically perhaps, in Bengal and Orissa, it saw not only its resurgence, but also a spell of its climatic glory- for the rulers of these Eastern Indian regions, during 8th-12th centuries, were the devout adherents of Buddhist faith. At the secular layers, the eastern India society of the times, as elsewhere in the subcontinent, was going through a period or transition: from the ancient to medieval.

This book look at the status of Buddhism in Bengal, Orissa, and their peripheral regions in Eastern India during 8th 12th centuries AD. Yet more significantly, it is the first ever effort to gauge the impact of Buddhism on contemporary socio-economic life, ruled by the dynastic families of zealous Buddhists, namely, the palas in Bengal and the Bhaumakaras of Orissa. Contextually, Dr. Mohapatra evolves indepth, analytical perspectives on pre-medieval religion, society and economy in eastern India drawing on wide-ranging sources: both primary and secondary.