UPSC · Prelims and Mains
Ancient and Medieval History, Art and Culture
← Religion and philosophyThe Buddha and early Buddhism
- Life: Lumbini, Kapilavastu, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar; epithets Shakyamuni, Tathagata, Sugata; Nayaputta belongs to Mahavira
- Core Buddhist teachings
- What Buddhism and Jainism share: rejection of Vedic authority and ritual efficacy; what they do not: the middle path
- Sangha rules, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, upasakas and upasikas; shramana, parivrajaka and maagadha (bards) as social types
- Councils: Rajagriha, Vaishali (Mahasanghika split), Pataliputra under Ashoka, Kashmir under Kanishka; spread to Sri Lanka and Central Asia
