History of Bengali Language and Literature c5.19

c5.19

ever, came suddenly to a standstill on the revival of Hinduism in Bengal. Buddhist works were carried by the vanquished exponents of that faith to Nepal and Burma; and all traces of the creed, which was once ascendant in the country, were obliterated there. Whatever may be urged in favour of the theory of "the gradual, almost insensible, assimilation of Buddhism to Hinduism" there can be no doubt that Buddhism was often suppressed in India by a storm of Brahmanic persecution. The following extract from Çankara-Vijaya regarding King Sudhanvā will show the ruthless manner in which the Buddhists were sometimes persecuted:—