Through an analysis of textual and archaeological sources, this book explores some aspects of the complex history of Buddhism in ancient India. Themes delved into are: the Process of Buddhist identity formation in the Middle and Upper Ganga Valley during
the early historic period; Patterns of patronage to Buddhism in North-Western India and Western Deccan; Perceptions of the agrarian world of early historic north-western India in a Buddhist text; early Buddhist medicinal practices as indicated in literary and archaeological sources; and socio-economic and cultic dynamics in the hinterland of a Buddhist monastery in early historic and early medieval Magadha.
