Question map
Not attempted Correct Incorrect ★ Bookmarked
Loading…
Q60 (IAS/1998) History & Culture › Ancient India › Buddhism and patronage Answer Verified

Many of the Greeks, Kushanas and Shakas embraced Buddhism rather than Hinduism because

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

Foreign rulers like the Indo-Greeks, Śhakas and Kuṣhāṇas found Buddhism institutionally and socially more accessible than Vedic/Hindu structures. Buddhist monasteries and sanghas offered non-caste communal spaces, education and cultural exchange that facilitated integration of foreign elites and artisans into Indian society [2]. Kuṣhāṇa emperors patronized the building of stupas and monasteries, making Buddhism a visible, institutional route to legitimation and local influence. The Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) is a noted example of Hellenic engagement with Buddhism, showing personal as well as political accommodation with Buddhist traditions [2]. The regional presence and syncretic tendencies of these rulers in north-west India also correlate with the rise of Buddhist patronage under Śhaka and Kuṣhāṇa domains [1].

Sources

  1. [2] https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/context/history_hon/article/1001/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
  2. [3] https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/icp01/chapter/indo-greeks-sakas-and-kushanas/
  3. [1] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 6: The Age of Reorganisation > LET'S EXPLORE > p. 135
How others answered
Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.
Community Performance
Out of everyone who attempted this question.
54%
got it right
✓ Thank you! We'll review this.

SIMILAR QUESTIONS

IAS · 2010 · Q80 Relevance score: -2.30

Why did Buddhism start declining in India in the early medieval times? 1. Buddha was by that time considered as one of the incarnations of Vishnu and thus became a part of Vaishnavism 2. The invading tribes from Central Asia till the time of last Gupta king adopted Hinduism and persecuted Buddhists. 3. The Kings of Gupta dynasty were strongly opposed to Buddhism Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?

NDA-I · 2011 · Q75 Relevance score: -2.75

Which one among the following statements is not correct ?

IAS · 2020 · Q72 Relevance score: -4.20

With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements : 1. Sthaviravadins belong to Mahayana Buddhism. 2. Lokottaravadin sect was an offshoot of Mahasanghika sect of Buddhism. 3. The deification of Buddha by Mahasanghikas fostered the Mahayana Buddhism. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

CDS-II · 2012 · Q87 Relevance score: -4.21

The ‘Dhamma’, propagated by Ashoka, was

CDS-I · 2013 · Q43 Relevance score: -4.35

Statement I : Sculptures of the Gandhara School stylistically are typically linked to the Greeco-Roman and the Parthian art of Iran. Statement II : The earliest stone Buddha images in the Swat Valley pre-dated the Kushana period which suggests that certain iconographic conventions were already well-established in the pre-Kushana period,