ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on cultural developments, specifically in relation to religion, art and architecture, and literature. It examines the ways in which these three areas demonstrate, on the one hand, an integral unity across the subcontinent and, on the other, their diverse manifestations in different regions of India. The chapter deals with some of the Indian cultural influences abroad during this period. Hinduism, both in its Vedic form and through its diverse sects and schools of thought, became increasingly dominant throughout the subcontinent. One might correctly say that under Pala patronage Buddhism obtained its last chance to retain its influence in India before a newly resurgent Hinduism finally crushed it. Indian medical methods and drugs were also in great demand in the Islamic world. The ideas drawn from ancient Hindu religious literature, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, pervade much of the mythology and notions of sacred space held by the peoples of that region.
