Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture

The book is structured into five main parts. Part I, “The Primitive Saṅgha,” studies the origin, development, and organization of the early Buddhist monastic community from 500–300 B.C., including wandering almsmen in the Upaniṣads, the Bhikkhu-Saṅgha as a sect among wanderers, the movement from wandering to settled life, early non-settlements such as āvāsas and ārāmas, Saṅgha life in early settlements, and the rise of monasteries. Part II, “The Aśoka-Sātavāhana Age and Its Legacy,” examines Buddhist monastic expansion between 250 B.C. and A.D. 100, including monks of the eastern tract, Aśoka and Moggaliputta Tissa, the Trans-Vindhyan expansion, Nāgārjunakoṇḍa, western Indian cave monasteries, and the Bāgh caves. Part III, “In the Gupta Age and After,” discusses Saṅgha life in transition, Vinaya history, bhakti in later Buddhism, monasteries under the Gupta kings, devastation, northern Indian monastic remains, and the Maitraka monasteries of Valabhī. Part IV studies eminent monk-scholars of India, including Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna traditions, ācāryas, and Indian monk-scholars in China. Part V examines monastic universities, especially Nālandā, and later establishments such as Odantapura, Vikramaśīla, Somapura, and Jagaddala.