Beyond the Buddhist heartland: Magadha’s Himalayan and trans-Himalayan networks (fifth to fifteenth century CE)

Abstract

The Buddhist landscape of ancient Magadha, modern south Bihar in eastern India, constituted the religion’s heartland because the Buddha had lived and taught here for a substantial period of time in the sixth century BCE. Within a few centuries after the Buddha’s death, Magadha started developing strong trans-regional connections, attracting pilgrims from within and beyond the subcontinent to the many shrines and monasteries that came to define the region. While Magadha’s robust translocal networks have been well established, a long-term history of its interface with the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan regions in the premodern period has yet to be charted. In this paper, I explore Magadha’s connections with parts of Nepal, Tibet and China in the course of a millennium (fifth to fifteenth century CE), using a combination of texts, inscriptions, sculptures and other artefacts. Within Magadha, I focus on Mahābodhi, the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment, and on Nālandā, the site of a renowned mega-monastery (mahāvihāra), since they had the most enduring transcultural links. Such an exercise highlights the evolving character of the Buddhist heartland and the perception of it in the Asian Buddhist world. It also demonstrates how cross-cultural influences contributed to shaping Buddhist practices both within and beyond the heartland.