A History of Indian Buddhism

Though several monographs are available on the history of Buddism in India, but none of them seeks, as the present work of Professor S. R. Goyal does, to study the history of this religion against the background of India’s cultural evolution and delineate its impact on and contribution to various facets of Indian culture – philosophy, literature, religions, art, education, historiography, philosophy of history, political thought, social philosophy, etc. Further, most of the works dealing with the history of Indian Buddhism stop with the disappearance of this religion after the establishment of the Turkish rule in c. 1200 A.D. while the present monograph studies the fortunes of this religion in India upto modern times. On every problem it analyses the data from authentic sources, seeks to incorporate the results of latest researches and often advances new suggestions for the consideration of scholars. Its first edition was, therefore, received enthusiastically by scholars and students of Indian Buddhism as a comprehensive work on the subject with a new approach from and authoritative pen. In the opinion of competent scholars the monograph is well organized and shows a lifetime of careful research. This is the work of a mature scholar, who makes available to the non-specialists a competent discussion of complex and diverse material which the specialists have also found of great interest. We, therefore, hope that present second revised and enlarged edition will be received Though several monographs are available on the history of Buddism in India, but none of them seeks, as the present work of Professor S. R. Goyal does, to study the history of this religion against the background of India’s cultural evolution and delineate its impact on and contribution to various facets of Indian culture – philosophy, literature, religions, art, education, historiography, philosophy of history, political thought, social philosophy, etc. Further, most of the works dealing with the history of Indian Buddhism stop with the disappearance of this religion after the establishment of the Turkish rule in c. 1200 A.D. while the present monograph studies the fortunes of this religion in India upto modern times. On every problem it analyses the data from authentic sources, seeks to incorporate the results of latest researches and often advances new suggestions for the consideration of scholars. Its first edition was, therefore, received enthusiastically by scholars and students of Indian Buddhism as a comprehensive work on the subject with a new approach from and authoritative pen. In the opinion of competent scholars the monograph is well organized and shows a lifetime of careful research. This is the work of a mature scholar, who makes available to the non-specialists a competent discussion of complex and diverse material which the specialists have also found of great interest. We, therefore, hope that present second revised and enlarged edition will be received with even greater enthusiasm by the scholarly world.