   thumb|right|x216px| ruins of nalanda university, considered a milestone in the decline of buddhism in india the decline of buddhism in india, the land of its birth, occurred for a variety of reasons and happened even as it continued to flourish beyond the frontiers of india.promsak, pg.14 buddhism had seen a steady growth from its beginnings in the 6th century bce to its endorsement as state religion of the maurya empire under ashoka in the 3rd century bce. it continued to flourish during the final centuries bce and the first centuries of the common era, and spread even beyond the indian subcontinent to central asia and beyond to china. but a steady decline of buddhism in india set in during the later gupta era and under the pala empire. chinese monks travelling through the region between the 5th and 8th centuries ce, such as faxian, xuanzang, yijing, huisheng, and song yun, began to speak of a decline of the buddhist sangha, especially in the wake of the white hun invasion.merriam-webster, pg. 155â157 decline continued after the fall of the pala dynasty in the 12th century ce and the gradual muslim conquest in the indian subcontinent. by that time, buddhism had become especially vulnerable to hostile rulers because it lacked strong roots in society as most of its adherents were ascetic communities.p. 183 max weber: an intellectual portrait by reinhard bendix apart from a small community in eastern bengal (present-day bangladesh) in which it had survived from ancient times and nepal, buddhism was virtually extinct in india by the end of the 19th century. in recent times buddhism has seen a revival in india due to the influence of anagarika dharmapala, kripasaran mahasthavir, b. r. ambedkar and tenzin gyatso, the 14th dalai lama. == early hardships ==  the buddha's period saw not only urbanisation, but also the beginnings of centralized states.richard gombrich, a global theory of intellectual change. harvard university press, 2000, page 205.  the successful expansion of buddhism depended on the growing economy of the time, together with increased centralised political organisation capable of change.richard gombrich, a global theory of intellectual change. harvard university press, 2000, page 184. during the maurya empire, during which ashoka banned vedic sacrifices as contrary to buddhist benevolence, buddhism began its spread outside of its magadha homeland. the succeeding shungas reinstated t
Buddhism_in_India Demographic_history_of_India History_of_Buddhism History_of_religion_in_India