The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c10.s2.34

v1.c10.s2.34

HINDUISM, Jainism, and Buddhism were the three main religious systems followed in the Rāṣṭrakūṭa empire. Of these Buddhism was the least popular. It had already begun to decline even at Ellora and Ajanta, which had once been its most famous centres. In the seventh century there were about 200 monasteries in the Deccan; but their numbers declined considerably during the rule of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas. In fact we come across only three monasteries in the inscriptions of the period: one at Kanheri near Bombay, the second at Kampil in the Sholapur District, and the third at Dambal in the Dhārwār District. Of these, the establishment at Kanheri was the best known; it could still attract benefactors even from distant Bengal and had a library of its own, probably to meet the needs of a local college. The Buddhists in the Deccan seem to have belonged mostly to the Mahāyāna faith.