Early South Indian Palaeography c13.76

c13.76

The early history of Buddhism in South India is still wrapped in considerable obscurity. Like Jainism, Buddhism also appears to have reached South India in the third and second centuries B.C. While the coming in of Jainism is usually associated with Śrutakevalin Bhadrabāhu and the Mauryan emperor Candragupta the advent of Buddhism in South India is associated with Aśoka, the grandson of Candragupta.