How did Buddhism spread? The forgotten Greek, nomadic rulers

#ThinkingMedieval
Buddhism spread through centuries of migration, cultural churn, and religio-political innovation. Anirudh Kanisetti explains how its expansion challenges our notion that ancient India was the centre of the world.

Sources:
Bernard, Paul, Georges-Jean Pinault, and Georges Rougemont. "Deux nouvelles inscriptions grecques de l'Asie centrale." Journal des savants 2, no. 1 (2004): 227-356.
Neelis, Jason. Early Buddhist transmission and trade networks: Mobility and exchange within and beyond the northwestern borderlands of South Asia. Brill, 2010.
Pollock, Sheldon. The language of the gods in the world of men: Sanskrit, culture, and power in premodern India. Univ of California Press, 2006.

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[Shahi-bangalah_]

The subcontinent needs more young historians like you to tell us the real history.

[srinathmitta]

True, in the world of ideas and knowledge, India impacted the world and vice versa. It was a significant part of the the value addition chain in the ancient world.

[rajivramanjani]

Shakavahana Vikrama Samvatsara is how we refer to our calendar. I wasn’t aware why it was called this way. This was very informative

[aconsciousnaut]

He didn't discussed much about Kushans, who also patronized Buddhism (along with their Bactrian religion and king worship in Devakula). Kushan empire was the one responsible for Buddhism's spread into China.

[accountforcommenting]

This one of my favorite along with national interest and cut the clutter, glad you started it, I learned a lot

[John]

Loved it... Very fascinating... Pls keep these coming.... 👍👍❤

[dreamadventure]

Buddhism is truely one of greatest achievement of humanity which happened to be in India but sadly same India have buddhist statues and heritages are in reckless conditions

[satyanshtrivedi]

I think depicting indo-Greeks, scynthians and parthians as invaders is like saying samudragupta was a foreigner who invaded south india

[bluefish]

I've always been interested in the Bactrian Kingdom, most focus in the West has always been on Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty since it lasted up into Roman times, most don't know anything of the Greco-Indo Kingdoms, with the Greeks/Macedonians converting to Buddhism, a subject little talked about in the West.

[dxtxzbunchanumbers]

There's something tragic about how religions became exclusive. The ancients had little problem with the fusion of multiple belief systems. Even zealously monotheistic religions once absorbed different ideas about their god and were enriched them.

[ekamsat]

Nice video. The merchants may have played a great role in the spread. On this topic, an excellent reference is 'The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies' by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth, 2001).

[buddhaexhumed]

Buddhist religion never disappeared from India. The problem is the strong cultural un-Indian foreign flavor that sees Buddhism through the prism of their own culture. Very educative. I do research on how Buddhism disappeared in Bihar. I realized it never disappeared from Bihar. Buddhists simply failed to research Indian Buddhism. They looked at Buddhism through the sphere of their own cultures searching for only the Buddha. Buddha had a myriad of names in different villages according to his teachings there. Example. His favorite teaching was 'Lust and desire causes pain. Remove lust and desire, and pain is removed'. Translated into Bihari (where the Buddha story took place) it is DHUKH HARAN meaning to remove dukha. Three dozen villages pray to DUKH HARAN Baba. Its clear that DUKH HARAN Baba is none other than the Buddha. Problem is Buddhists are searching only for the Buddha. In the real Vaishali the Buddha begged for alms. The locals there pray to 'BHIKHAINI' Baba (Beggar Baba). Bhikhaini was mispronounced by Buddhists as Bhikshu. Who is BHIKHAINI Baba. The Buddha no doubt. But people are searching for a man called Buddha. In the real Vaishali, in Beluha the Buddha suffered a sickness and felt he had grown old. The locals pray to 'BURHA' Baba (Old Baba). Who is BURHA Baba. The Buddha no doubt. In the real Vaishali the Lichavies pressurized Buddha not to die. They trailed him to Bandagawan pressurizing him not to die. To put pressure in Hindi is DABESHWAR. Three dozen villages around the stupa where Buddha gave the Lichavies his patra, the villagers pray to Baba 'DABESHWAR NATH' meaning the man who won the pressurizing game. It was the the Buddha no doubt as he gave the Lichavies his patra and succeded in sending them back. But Buddhists are searching for the Buddha. Forgive me for commenting out of the topic. I just wanted to impart this information to you.

[eaglesharp]

Budhism is a great religion golden period of india . Even Greek rulers became budhist

[denvorsden]

Are Indian Gods partially influenced by Greek Gods? And have Indian Gods influenced Greek Gods?

[hotfun]

0:00 - 0:22

Your assumptions about your viewers' understanding of History are bizarre?

[priyanks]

Fascinating! Had no idea about Menander minting Hindu coins

[Vineeth_Lifestyle]

Print giving employment to ex-upsc aspirants. Good.

[aryafarn]

many asks (especially those of turkic origin, who wrongly claim Scythians were turks)- where masses of Aryan Saka-scythians, who once controlled all Eastern Europe and Eurasia(from Siberia to Palestine) dissapeared, leaving only small group of Ossetian descendents(linquistic) in Europe? the answer is simple! -millions of modern northern indians in fact are descendents of Saka-scythians. (Rajputs f.ex.)

[edermanutencaoejardim]

Respect for Buddhists, I converted to Christianity

[AnilKSingh-mphh]

So, Menindo could well have been Milind actually. The old Bharat of those days wasnt like modern India. And till Abrahamic religions became dominant, belief systems of pagans were fluid enough to accept many paths as equals.