Buddhist monuments and Buddhist sites have been found in large numbers all over India and their meeting is a natural thing from the point of view of history, but the Buddhist caves of Jhalawar region are special in themselves. It is a witness to a terrible turning point in the history of India and appears to tell the brutal story of the tyrannical Huns invading the Malwa region and the extinction of Buddhism from Rajasthan and Malwa. The invasions of the Huns had a devastating effect on Buddhism. They looted and destroyed Buddhist temples and monasteries, which could not be rebuilt.
Attempts for syncretism in Shaivism
It seems that the Buddhists of the Malwa region, frightened by the invasion of the Huns, also tried to protect their religion by establishing coordination with Shaivism. Jhalawar District Collector Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni has discovered such a Shivling in a Shiv temple in Pidawa village in the year 2016, in which the base of the base is built according to traditional Shaivism, but the statue of Lord Buddha is engraved on the pindi of Shivling.
The date of this linga cannot be determined, but on the basis of the presence of the nearby Kolvi, Hatyagod and Binayaga Buddhist caves, it can be inferred that this linga must have been at the time of the destruction of the Huns or some later.
It is surprising that the Hinayana sect of Buddhism was present in this entire area, but the coordination of the Buddha idol with the Shivling is a step taken two steps ahead of the Mahayana ones. In the same way, just as the Buddhist Vihara and Chaitya of Koshavardhan of Baran district were dedicated to the Hinayana sect, but the inscription in the Koshavardhan fort is in Sanskrit language, according to Hinayana it should have been in Pali language.
Harshavardhan Kalyan Memorial
In the seventh century, Rajasthan was ruled by Harshavardhana. He was a majestic king of the Vardhana dynasty of Thaneswar who ruled from 606 AD to 648 AD. His kingdom extended from the Himalayas to the Narbada River. Thus modern Rajasthan was also under his rule. Although Harsha was a worshiper of Sthan (Lord Shiva), he got attracted towards Buddhism and gave him shelter. He used to organize religious conferences in Prayag every five years in which he worshiped Buddha on the first day, Surya on the second day and Lord Shiva on the third day. He used to give charity to all the religious people but also gave a large amount of money to the Buddhist monks. It was during Harsha's reign that the Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang visited India. Harsha called a special conference of Mahayana religion on the arrival of Hiuen Tsang, in which the kings of 18 countries, 3000 monks of Mahayana and Hinayana religion, 300 Brahmins, Jainacharyas and 1000 monks of Nalanda Vihara were called. In this conference the idol of Lord Buddha was placed at the fore and behind him Bhaskar Varma walked in the costume of Brahma and Harshavardhana dressed as Shakra (Indra). Harsha also sent 4 missionaries to promote Mahayana religion in Orissa. Harsha established cultural contacts with Tibet, China and Central Asia and sent his envoys to China. He was a worshiper of Surya and Shiva, yet he tried to propagate Buddhism. Due to the patronage of Buddhism, the military power of Harsha also slackened and after Harsha, the Vardhana dynasty also declined. No Buddhist monument built in Rajasthan during Harsha's period has been identified.
towards a rapid decline
After the defeat of the Huns, Buddhism tried to recover again. He was also patronized by Harshavardhana, the mighty emperor of North India. When a Chinese Buddhist monk came to India in the seventh century, he saw a Buddhist vihara in the city of Bhinmal in which more than 100 monks lived. This was probably the last glare of the extinguished lamp of the Buddhists in Rajasthan. Harsha was followed by the rise of the Rajputs in India and the Turks in Arabia in the second half of the seventh century. The Huns were crushed between these two powers and the Rajput dynasty came to a prominent role on the political stage of India. The Rajputs had to take on the Muslims. Therefore Buddhism could not get prestige in their kingdoms. There was no place for non-violent, atheistic Buddhism in that time of bloody conflicts and violence.
Defeat of Buddhism in Pushkar
In Tirtharaj Pushkar, a fair organized on the occasion of Kartik Purnima, used to organize debates on a large scale in which scholars of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions used to come and argue. No details are available about when these events started and how long they lasted. In the first century AD, Pushkar was dominated by Buddhists. They maintained their supremacy probably for six to seven centuries. In the period of Kanishka (1st century AD), the Buddhist monk Mihigiri of Pushkar raised the flag of Buddhism by defeating the scholars of Varanasi in a debate. Kanishka respected Mihirgiri in his court. Himgiri, Arya Buddha Rakshita and Tishya Rakshita donated huge amount in Varanasi. In the time of Harsha (606-648 AD), these debates had reached their peak. Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya (788-820 AD) started the work of defeating the Buddhists through debates in the eighth-ninth century, he also came to Pushkar. Shankaracharya made a severe blow on Buddhism, due to which the trend of the general public turned towards Sanatan Dharma instead of Buddhism.
Uplift of Vaishnavism and Shaivism in Rajput period
Most of the Rajput dynasties supported the Brahmin religion. During this period, Acharyas like Kumaril, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja etc. propagated Brahmin religion a lot. Kumaril Bhatt refuted Buddhism, which did not believe in the authenticity of the Vedas. Shankaracharya propounded the principle of Advaita i.e. 'Jivatma and Paramatma are one'. Shankaracharya propagated Vedic religion a lot by making the Upanishads the basis and almost ended the influence of Buddhism. Shankaracharya established four mathas in the four corners of India namely Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameshwaram and Jagannathpuri. Ramanujacharya advocated Vishishtadvaita, which means that Brahman, Jiva and the world are essentially one but functionally different from each other and possess some distinct qualities. The main deities of this era were Vishnu and Shiva. Vaishnavism and Shaivism were widely spread in this era. Lingayat sect was propagated in South India. These people used to worship Shivling. The worship of Shakti was also prevalent during this period. The worshipers of Shakti used to worship Durga and Kali. Tantric sect also flourished in this era. These people believed in witchcraft, ghosts and mantras. Thus the outbreak of superstition was increasing.
Status of Buddhists of Rajasthan in 8th century AD
The Pratiharas were emerging in Rajasthan in the 8th century AD. Even during this period, Buddhism must have remained in some form or the other. In 712 AD, Jain monk Udyotan Suri, sitting in Jalore fort, composed an important book called Kuvalayamala. In this book, the Hun invader Varaha Mihir was praised as the lord of the whole earth. It is famous about Varaha Mihir that he killed nine categories of Buddhists. Therefore, by calling him the lord of the whole earth by Jain monk Udyotana Suri, it is estimated that in the eighth century the animosity between Buddhists and Jains was at its peak and Udyotan Suri rewarded Mihirkul, who killed the Buddhists, by calling him the lord of all the earth.