The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c24.s3.29

c24.s3.29

Professor D. R. Bhandarkar has given a description, based upon the rock and cave inscriptions of Western India, of the social and economic features of the Deccan during the sway of the Āndhras.³ Both Buddhism and Brahmanic Hinduism flourished at that period. Almost all the Buddhist caves in the Deccan were excavated under the rule of this dynasty, villages and lands being granted to defray the cost of their maintenance and to provide also for the sustenance of the *Bhikshus* who inhabited the caves during the rainy season. The provision of new robes for these mendicants was secured by the investment of funds in one of the craft-guilds (*sreni*), established in the neighbouring towns. The popularity of Brahmanism is apparent from the fact that Royalty performed many sacrifices, including the *Aśvamedha* and *Gavāmayana*, and paid heavy *dakshina* to Brahmans. The worship of Siva was popular, and also the cult of Krishna under the names Samkarshana and Vāsudeva, while Indra and Dharma were widely revered. There seems to have been little or no antagonism between the two faiths, for the followers of Brahmanism excavated several caves for Buddhist monks, while foreigners like the Sakas and Ābhiras freely embraced either religion and assumed Hindu names.