By the time the Muslims began conquering India in the twelfth century, the number of monasteries had severely declined. Buddhism, which once had spread across the face of India, was a vital force only in the areas of its origins.
Scholars believe that the monasteries became detached from everyday life in India.
After centuries of patronage, the monasteries had amassed a wealth of endowments. Life inside the monasteries was very good. For the everyday Indian, Buddhism increasingly became indistinguishable from Hinduism, which had undergone a transformation itself. When the Muslims began their conquest of India in 1192, they energetically set about trying to convert the regions to Islam. Part of this conversion process involved suppressing indigenous religions.