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82-636: Cultural interactions between ancient Greece and Buddhism date back to Greek forays into the Indian subcontinent from the time of Alexander the Great . A few years after Alexander's death, the Easternmost fringes of the empire of his general Seleucus were lost in a war with the Mauryan Empire , under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya . The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka would convert to Buddhism and spread

164-856: A battle against King Porus of Pauravas in Punjab, the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. The Mauryan Empire would later defeat the successor Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid-Mauryan War . Resulting in the transfer of the satraps in the Indus Valley and Gandhara , that had been part of the Achaemenid , Macedonian and Seleucidian , to the Mauryan Empire. However, contacts were kept with his Greco-Iranian neighbors in

246-632: A common religious focus for populations with different traditions: a well-known example is Serapis , introduced by Ptolemy I Soter in Hellenistic Egypt , who combined aspects of Greek and Egyptian Gods. In India as well, it was only natural for the Greeks to create a single common divinity by combining the image of a Greek god-king ( Apollo , or possibly the deified founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom , Demetrius I of Bactria ), with

328-424: A large part of the symbolism of Indo-Greek coinage, but refrained from ever using the elephant, suggesting that its meaning was not merely geographical. Finally, after the reign of Menander I, several Indo-Greek rulers, such as Amyntas Nikator , Nicias , Peukolaos , Hermaeus , Hippostratos and Menander II , depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a benediction gesture identical to

410-650: A legend preserved in the Pali Canon , two merchant brothers from Kamsabhoga in Bactria, Tapassu and Bhallika, visited Gautama Buddha and became his disciples. The legend states that they then returned home and spread the Buddha's teaching. In 326 BC, Alexander conquered the Northern region of India. King Ambhi of Taxila, known as Taxiles , surrendered his city, a notable Buddhist center, to Alexander. Alexander fought

492-450: A lion-skin, the protector deity of Demetrius I of Bactria , "served as an artistic model for Vajrapani , a protector of the Buddha". In Japan , this expression further translated into the wrath-filled and muscular Niō guardian gods of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples. According to Katsumi Tanabe, professor at Chūō University, Japan, besides Vajrapani, Greek influence also appears in several other gods of

574-574: A part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of a small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent

656-415: A river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as

738-688: A satrap following the Battle of the Hydaspes . Alexander's army would mutiny and retreat along the Beas River when confronted by the Nanda Empire , thus wouldn't conquer Punjab entirely. Thanks to relocation by the Persian Empire, there was established Greek culture in the far east of Alexander's empire. He founded several cities in his new territories in the areas of the Amu Darya and Bactria , and Greek settlements further extended to

820-594: A very active part in it. Several Buddhist dedications by Greeks in India are recorded, such as that of the Greek meridarch (civil governor of a province) named Theodorus , describing in Kharosthi how he enshrined relics of the Buddha . The inscriptions were found on a vase inside a stupa, dated to the reign of Menander or one of his successors in the 1st century BC. Finally, Buddhist tradition recognizes Menander as one of

902-551: A wider audience: One of the distinguishing features of the Gandharan school of art that emerged in north-west India is that it has been clearly influenced by the naturalism of the Classical Greek style. Thus, while these images still convey the inner peace that results from putting the Buddha's doctrine into practice, they also give us an impression of people who walked and talked, etc. and slept much as we do. I feel this

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984-755: Is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world. It is socially very mixed, consisting of many language groups and religions, and social practices in one region that are vastly different from those in another. [REDACTED] Media related to Indian subcontinent at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania Kalinga War The Kalinga war (ended c.  261 BCE )

1066-674: Is the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne, and marked the close of the empire-building and military conquests of ancient India that began with the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya . The war cost nearly 250,000 lives. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts. The reasons for invading Kalinga were to bring peace and for power. Kalinga

1148-446: Is very important. These figures are inspiring because they do not only depict the goal, but also the sense that people like us can achieve it if we try. During the following centuries, this anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha defined the canon of Buddhist art, but progressively evolved to incorporate more Indian and Asian elements. Several other Buddhist deities may have been influenced by Greek gods. For example, Heracles with

1230-599: The British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in

1312-695: The Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in

1394-1007: The Kambojas , the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma . Finally, some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as the famous Dharmaraksita , are described in Pali sources as leading Greek (" Yona ") Buddhist monks active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa , XII), founding

1476-756: The Khyber Pass , Gandhara (see Taxila ), and the Punjab . Following Alexander's death on June 10, 323 BC, the Diadochi or "successors" founded their own kingdoms. General Seleucus set up the Seleucid Empire in Anatolia and Central Asia and extended as far as India. The Mauryan Empire , founded by Chandragupta Maurya , would first conquer the Nanda Empire . Chandragupta would then defeat

1558-555: The Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It

1640-462: The Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use

1722-535: The Pāli canon ; we find the same description in the Dāsāṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā . Additionally, the nudity of Jainist sculptures might have been inspired by Apollonian archetypes. Greek artists were most probably the authors of these early representations of the Buddha, in particular the standing statues, which display "a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes

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1804-498: The Seleucid Empire . Emperor Seleucus I Nicator came to a marital agreement as part of a peace treaty, and several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes , resided at the Mauryan court. Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka embraced the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, insisting on non-violence to humans and animals ( ahimsa ), and general precepts regulating

1886-527: The spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to the Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of

1968-401: The 18 months they were in India, they were able to interact with Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism , generally described as gymnosophists ("naked philosophers"). Pyrrho returned to Greece and founded Pyrrhonism , considered by modern scholars as the first Western school of skepticism . The Greek biographer Diogenes Laërtius explained that Pyrrho's equanimity and detachment from

2050-550: The 5th century, with remaining strongholds such as Bengal largely ended during the Islamic invasions of India . The length of the Greek presence in Central Asia and northern India provided opportunities for interaction, not only on the artistic but also on the religious plane. When Alexander invaded Bactria and Gandhara, these areas may already have been under Sramanic influence, likely Buddhist and Jain . According to

2132-679: The Buddha and was famous for his religious syncretism, convened the Fourth Buddhist council around 100 in Kashmir in order to redact the Sarvastivadin canon . Some of Kanishka's coins bear the earliest representations of the Buddha on a coin (around 120), in Hellenistic style and with the word "Boddo" in Greek script. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari Prakrit Mahāyāna sūtras translated into Sanskrit , "a turning point in

2214-687: The Buddha himself are often considered a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Before this innovation, Buddhist art was " aniconic ": the Buddha was only represented through his symbols (an empty throne, the Bodhi Tree , Buddha footprints , the Dharmachakra ). This reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear), seem to be connected to one of

2296-523: The Buddha's sayings reported in the Digha Nikaya that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body. Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha". In many parts of the Ancient World, the Greeks did develop syncretic divinities, that could become

2378-635: The Buddhist monk Nagasena . The Mahavamsa , chapter 29, records that during Menander's reign, a Greek thera (elder monk) named Mahadharmaraksita led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alexandria" (possibly Alexandria on the Caucasus , around 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of today's Kabul in Afghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of a stupa, indicating that Buddhism flourished in Menander's territory and that Greeks took

2460-655: The Buddhist vitarka mudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of Buddha's teaching. According to Ptolemy , Greek cities were founded by the Greco-Bactrians in northern India . Menander established his capital in Sagala (modern Sialkot , Punjab, Pakistan ) one of the centers of the blossoming Buddhist culture . A large Greek city built by Demetrius and rebuilt by Menander has been excavated at

2542-732: The Dharma") in Prakrit written in Kharoshthi . Some of the coins of Menander I and Menander II incorporate the Buddhist symbol of the eight-spoked wheel, associated with the Greek symbols of victory, either the palm of victory, or the victory wreath handed over by the goddess Nike . According to the Milinda Pañha , at the end of his reign Menander I became a Buddhist arhat , a fact also echoed by Plutarch , who explains that his relics were shared and enshrined. The ubiquitous symbol of

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2624-539: The Greco-Bactrians and invading the northern parts of Pakistan and India from around 1 AD. By that time they had already been in contact with Greek culture and the Indo-Greek kingdoms for more than a century. They used the Greek script to write their language, as exemplified by their coins and their adoption of the Greek alphabet . The Kushan King Kanishka, who honored Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanic deities as well as

2706-576: The Greco-Bactrians were followed by the secession of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD). Even when, centuries later, these Hellenized regions were conquered first by the Yuezhi , then by the Indo-Scythians and the Kushan Empire (1st–3rd centuries AD), Buddhism continued to thrive there. Buddhism in India was a major religion for centuries until a major Hindu revival from around

2788-520: The Greek historian at the court of Chandragupta Maurya , the ruler of Kalinga had a powerful army comprising infantry, cavalry and elephants. Ashoka had seen the bloodshed and felt that he was the cause of the destruction. Beloved-of-the-Gods , King Priyadarsi (Ashoka) conquered the Kalingans eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After

2870-506: The Greek king Antiochos (Antiyoga) rules, and beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy (Turamaya), Antigonos (Antikini), Magas (Maka) and Alexander (Alikasu[n]dara) rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas , the Pandyas , and as far as Tamraparni . Ashoka also claims he converted to Buddhism Greek populations within his realm: Here in the king's domain among the Greeks,

2952-656: The Greeks, the Kambojas , the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras, and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma . The decline and overthrow of the Mauryans by the Shunga Empire , and of the revolt of Bactria in the Seleucid Empire led to the formation of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250–125 BC). To their north,

3034-511: The Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included

3116-798: The Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming the central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies

3198-502: The Kalingans had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dharma , a love for the Dharma and for instruction in Dharma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingans. Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka . The Kalinga War prompted Ashoka, already a non-engaged Buddhist, to devote the rest of his life to ahimsa (non-violence) and to dharma-vijaya (victory through dharma ). Following

3280-421: The Mahayana pantheon such as the Japanese Fūjin , inspired from the Greek divinity Boreas through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo , or the mother deity Hariti inspired by Tyche . Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans

3362-492: The Mauryan Era, where it became the most prevalent branch of Buddhism in Central Asia. Mahayana Buddhism was later transmitted through the Silk Road into the Han dynasty during the Kushan era under the reign of Emperor Kanishka . Buddhist tradition details the monk, Majjhantika of Varanasi , was made responsible for spreading Buddhism in the region by Emperor Ashoka. Later on, the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek king Menander I , who may have converted to Buddhism, stimulated

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3444-518: The Seleucid Empire during the Seleucid-Mauryan War . This resulted in the transfer of the Macedonian satraps in the Indus Valley and Gandhara to the Mauryan Empire. Furthermore, a marriage alliance was enacted which granted Seleucus's daughter as Chandragupta's wife for diplomatic relations. The conflict additionally led to the transfer of 500 war elephants to the Seleucid Empire from the Mauryan Empire, presumably as reparations for lives lost and damages sustained. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka established

3526-437: The Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In the east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given

3608-414: The archaeological site of Sirkap near Taxila , where Buddhist stupas were standing side-by-side with Hindu and Greek temples , indicating religious tolerance and syncretism. Evidence of direct religious interaction between Greek and Buddhist thought during the period include the Milinda Pañha or "Questions of Menander", a Pali-language discourse in the Platonic style held between Menander I and

3690-407: The best Greek work. This is Classical or Hellenistic Greek, not archaizing Greek transmitted by Persia or Bactria, nor distinctively Roman ." The Greek stylistic influence on the representation of the Buddha, through its idealistic realism, also permitted a very accessible, understandable and attractive visualization of the ultimate state of enlightenment described by Buddhism, allowing it to reach

3772-432: The best philosophy [is] that which liberates the mind from [both] pleasure and grief". Cynicism, particularly the Cynic Peregrinus Proteus was further influenced by the tales of the gymnosophists , particularly the examples set by Kalanos , Dandamis , and Zarmanochegas . The Cyrenaic philosopher Hegesias of Cyrene , from the city of Cyrene where Magas of Cyrene ruled, is thought by some to have been influenced by

3854-399: The civilization of the Indians. Megasthenes sent detailed reports on Indian religions, which were circulated and quoted throughout the Classical world for centuries: Megasthenes makes a different division of the philosophers, saying that they are of two kinds, one of which he calls the Brachmanes , and the other the Sarmanes ... The Greco-Bactrians maintained a strong Hellenistic culture at

3936-415: The countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding

4018-426: The difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest, the valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to

4100-461: The door of India during the rule of the Maurya Empire in India, as exemplified by the archaeological site of Ai-Khanoum . When the Maurya Empire was toppled by the Shunga Empire around 180 BC, the Greco-Bactrians expanded into India, where they established the Indo-Greek Kingdom , under which Buddhism was able to flourish. Northern India was the Indo-Greek Kingdom, centered approximately around Alexandria Eschate . They controlled various areas of

4182-430: The east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of the 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically,

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4264-404: The elephant in Indo-Greek coinage may also have been associated with Buddhism, as suggested by the parallel between coins of Antialcidas and Menander II , where the elephant in the coins of Antialcidas holds the same relationship to Zeus and Nike as the Buddhist wheel on the coins of Menander II. When the Zoroastrian Indo-Parthian Kingdom invaded North India in the 1st century AD, they adopted

4346-526: The eponymous Dharmaguptaka school of Buddhism. Alexander had established in Bactria several cities (such as Ai-Khanoum and Bagram ) and an administration that were to last more than two centuries under the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , all the time in direct contact with Indian territory. The Greeks sent ambassadors to the court of the Maurya Empire , such as the historian Megasthenes under Chandragupta Maurya , and later Deimachus under his son Bindusara , who reported extensively on

4428-448: The evolution of the Buddhist literary canon" The Kanishka casket , dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127, was signed by a Greek artist named Agesilas , who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas ( cetiya ), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date. Several Greek philosophers , including Pyrrho , Anaxarchus , and Onesicritus accompanied Alexander in his eastern campaigns. During

4510-406: The faces, all rendered with strong artistic realism . A large quantity of sculptures combining Buddhist and purely Hellenistic styles and iconography were excavated at the modern site of Hadda, Afghanistan . The curly hair of Buddha is described in the famous list of the physical characteristics of the Buddha in the Buddhist sutras. The hair with curls turning to the right is first described in

4592-411: The far end of the Persian Empire, those central Asian provinces. When Alexander the Great conquered Achaemenid Empire and further regions of Central Asia in 334 BC, he thus encountered many Greeks already established in the easternmost stretches of its empire. He then ventured into Punjab (land of five rivers). Alexander crossed the Indus and Jhelum River when defeating Porus and appointing him as

4674-456: The great benefactors of the faith, together with Ashoka and Kanishka the Great . Buddhist manuscripts in cursive Greek have been found in Afghanistan, praising various Buddhas and including mentions of the Mahayana figure of " Lokesvararaja Buddha" ( λωγοασφαροραζοβοδδο ). These manuscripts have been dated later than the 2nd century CE. The Kushan Empire , one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi , settled in Bactria around 125 BC, displacing

4756-425: The heart of the victor from one of wanton cruelty to that of exemplary piety as this one. From its fathomless womb, the history of the world may find out only a few wars to its credit which may be equal to this war and not a single one that would be greater than this. The political history of mankind is really a history of wars and no war has ended with so successful a mission of peace for the entire war-torn humanity as

4838-422: The largest Indian empire. Following the destructive Kalinga War , Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Abandoning an expansionist agenda, Ashoka would adopt humanitarian reformation in place. As ascribed in the Edicts of Ashoka , the Emperor spread Dharma as Buddhism throughout his empire. Ashoka claims to have converted many, including the Greek populations within his realm to Buddhism: Here in the king's domain among

4920-441: The life of laypeople. According to the Edicts of Ashoka , set in stone, some of them written in Greek and some in Aramaic , the official language of the Achaemenids , he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of the Hellenistic period : The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas [4,000 miles] away, where

5002-453: The major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as a region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from

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5084-433: The north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on

5166-517: The northern Indian territory until 10 AD. Buddhism prospered under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Shungas (185–73 BC), who had overthrown the Mauryans. Zarmanochegas was a śramana (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo , Cassius Dio , and Nicolaus of Damascus traveled to Antioch and Athens while Augustus (died 14 AD)

5248-420: The region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either

5330-423: The region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to a distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to

5412-451: The religious philosophy throughout his domain, as recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka . This spread to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom , which itself seceded from the Seleucid Empire. Following the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, Buddhism continued to flourish under the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , Indo-Greek Kingdoms , and Kushan Empire . Mahayana Buddhism was spread from the Gangetic plains in India into Gandhara and then Central Asia during

5494-457: The rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In the west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with

5576-401: The spread of the religion as well. The introduction of Hellenistic Greece to central Asia started after the conquest of that region by Darius the Great and his Persian Achaemenid Empire . He and his successors also conquered the Anatolian peninsula , which at the time was inhabited by many Greek cultures. When they rebelled, those Greeks were often ethnically cleansed by being relocated to

5658-503: The subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during the Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during

5740-400: The teachings of Ashoka's Buddhist missionaries. Numerous works of Greco-Buddhist art display the intermixing of Greek and Buddhist influences in such creation centers as Gandhara . The subject matter of Gandharan art was definitely Buddhist, while most motifs were of Western Asiatic or Hellenistic origin. Although there is still some debate, the first anthropomorphic representations of

5822-430: The term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within a cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as

5904-472: The traditional physical characteristics of the Buddha . Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence: himation , the contrapposto stance of the upright figures, such as the 1st–2nd century Gandhara standing Buddhas, the stylized curly hair and ushnisha apparently derived from the style of the Apollo Belvedere (330 BC) and the measured quality of

5986-406: The usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent , a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since

6068-420: The war of Kalinga. The war was completed in the eighth year of Ashoka's reign, according to his own Edicts of Ashoka , probably in 261 BCE. After a bloody battle for the throne following the death of his father, Ashoka was successful in conquering Kalinga – but the consequences of the savagery changed Ashoka's views on war and led him to pledge to never again wage a war of conquest. According to Megasthenes ,

6150-410: The world were acquired in India. Pyrrho was directly influenced by Buddhism in developing his philosophy, which is based on Pyrrho's interpretation of the Buddhist three marks of existence . Another of these philosophers, Onesicritus, a Cynic , is said by Strabo to have learnt in India the following precepts: "That nothing that happens to a man is bad or good, opinions being merely dreams. ... That

6232-792: The world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to

6314-587: Was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal , the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that

6396-507: Was a prosperous region consisting of peaceful and artistically skilled people. The northern part of Kalinga was known as the Utkala (Uttar: North, Kal: Kalinga), they were the first from the region to use a navy and traveled offshore to Southeast Asia for trade. For that reason, Kalinga was able to develop several ports and a skilled navy. The culture of Kalinga was a blend of tribal religions and Brahmanism co-existing peacefully. Kalinga

6478-510: Was a strategic threat to the Mauryas. It could interrupt communications between Mauryan capital Pataliputra and possessions in the central Indian peninsula. Kalinga also controlled the coastline for trade in the Bay of Bengal . No war in the history of India is as important either for its intensity or for its results as the Kalinga war of Ashoka. No wars in the annals of human history have changed

6560-551: Was fought in ancient India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great and Kalinga , an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh . It is presumed that the battle was fought on Dhauli hills in Dhauli which is situated on the banks of Daya River . The Kalinga War was one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history. This

6642-483: Was ruling the Roman Empire . The coins of the Indo-Greek king Menander I (r. 160–135 BC), found from Afghanistan to central India, bear the inscription "Saviour King Menander" in Greek on the front. Several Indo-Greek kings after Menander, such as Zoilos I , Strato I , Heliokles II , Theophilos , Peukolaos , Menander II , and Archebius display on their coins the title "Maharajasa Dharmika" (lit. "King of

6724-526: Was under the rule of the Nanda Empire who ruled over the region from their capital in Magadha until their fall in 321 BCE. Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta had possibly attempted to conquer Kalinga but had been repulsed. Ashoka set himself to the task of conquering and annexing Kalinga to the vast Maurya Empire as soon as he securely established himself as the Emperor. Some scholars argue that Kalinga

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