Akira Shimada

While the ancient region of Andhra is well known as the epicenter of Buddhism in South India between ca. the 3rd century BCE and ca. the 3rd century CE, the fate of the religion after this period has been hardly clear. The history of Andhra Buddhism after the 3rd century CE thus has been understood as the mere period of decline. This project aims to rectify this situation by reconstructing a comprehensive history of Andhra Buddhism with a special focus on the material culture, and its relationship with the changing political and religious milieu of early medieval India and the Indian Ocean World from the final phase of the Satavahana’s rule in the early 3rd century CE to the end of the Kakatiya dynasty in 1323 CE.