Indian Society for Buddhist Studies

Author(s): Prachya Vidyapeeth
Publisher: Prachya Vidyapeeth

Page 94

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Buddhism.By losing royal patronage Buddhism gradually lost importance amongst the masses. The last blow of nails in its coffin was struck by Ikhtyar-uddin Mohammad Bin BakhtierKhilji in 1206 C.E.. His army butchered the Buddhist monks mercilessly, looted, burnt and destroyed the Buddhist shrines all over India. They totally destroyed the institutes of learning - Nalanda, Odantapuri, Taxila, VikramsilaMahaviharas.Somehow a few Buddhist monks could manage to flee to Nepal and Tibet with scriptures, manuscripts, etc. which afterwards helped to recreate the history of Buddhism. Buddhism practically disappeared from India since thirteenth century C.E. Thereafter almost seven hundred years was the period of darkness so far as the Buddhism in India is concerned. Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee rightly said, “Till the beginning of the eighteenth century Buddhism was a forgotten creedin the land of its origin.
Now discussing the role of Anagarika Dharmapala in reviving Buddhism in India, it is worthy to be mentioned that the period between 1891 and 1955 is of great importance for Buddhist renaissance. Dharmapala stood above all for the revival of Buddhism. He stood not merely for the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon, where it had been weakened for centuries, but for its renaissance in India. The most important thing AnagarikaDharmapala did for the revival of Buddhism in India was to regain the control of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya from the clutch of the Mahanta and restore its past glory. Anagarika came to India on 18th January, 1891 along with KozenGunaratna, a Japanese monk. On 20th January, he went to Sarnath with Upendranath Bose where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon and set the 'Wheel of Law'. Anagarika was afflicted to see the sad plight of this holy place. On 22 January, 1891 Dharmapala arrived at Bodh Gaya and was shocked to see the Mohabodhi Temple getting neglected and unsanctified in the hands of the Mahantas. He took a vow to re-establish Buddhist control over the Temple.
The impracticable dream of a young idealist to revive, in the land of its birth, a religion that had been dead there a thousand years, was scoffed at by his contemporaries. But