ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the impact of Buddhism on medieval Hindu culture, particularly as reflected in Marathi literature. Archaeological and literary evidences suggest Buddhism’s widespread influence in India. This influence did not cease completely when the spread of Buddhism began to decline in India around the 12th century CE and finally disappeared during the centuries that followed. Hindu society considered the Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu. It is interesting to find how this notion was understood in various religious traditions in medieval India in general and in Maharashtra in particular. This chapter indicates how in Bhakti literature of medieval Maharashtra, this notion is reflected in two ways: First, the saint poets considered their God, Viṭṭhal or Viṭhobā, as the Buddha, the ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu, and second, their teachings bear close similarity to the teaching of the Buddha and are said to have been influenced by Buddhist philosophy. This chapter observes that like the Bhakti movement in other parts of India, the Bhakti movement of Maharashtra also was anti-caste and anti-orthodox and opposed to the authority of the Vedas, the sacrificial religion advocated by the Vedas and the ancient system of the Varṇāśramadharma.
