Religion in Society

Birendra Nath Prasad is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Histor­ical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where he teaches economic history and maritime history of ancient and early medieval India, social history of religion in ancient and early medieval India, and history of Southeast Asia to c.1500 ce.

• List of Figures and Tables 6Preface 71. Introduction 92. Cultic Relationships between Buddhism and Brahmanism in the 'Last Stronghold' of Indian Buddhism: An Analysis with Particular Reference to Votive Inscriptions on the Brahmanical Sculptures Donated to Buddhist Religious Centres in Early Medieval Magadha 223. Merchants and their Family Members as Donors of Inscribed Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures in Early Medieval Bihar and Bengal 524. Women as Donors of Inscribed Buddhist Sculptures in Early Medieval Bihar and Bengal 685. Monarchs, Monasteries and Trade on an 'Agrarian Frontier': Early Medieval Samata?a- Harikela, Bengal, c. 400 ce-1250 ce 876. Jaina and Brahmanical Temples and Political Processes in a Forested Frontier of Early Medieval South-Western Bengal: A Study of Purulia 1107. Buddhist Revival in Contemporary Uttar Pradesh, c. 2005 ce-2011 ce: Some Aspects of Ambedkarite and ?j?vika Discourses on Buddhism and Hinduism in Hindi Print Media 151Bibliography 197Index 215