This is the ?rst study to systematically confront the question how Brahmanism which was geographically limited and under threat during the ?nal centuries BCE transformed itself and spread all over South and Southeast Asia. Brahmanism spread over this vast area without the support of an empire without the help of conquering armies and without the intermediary of religious missionaries. This phenomenon has no parallel in world history yet shaped a major portion of the surface of the earth for a number of centuries. This book focuses on the formative period of this phenomenon roughly between Alexander and the Guptas. About the Author Johannes Bronkhorst (PhD Pune 1979 doctorate Leiden 1980) is professor emeritus at the University of Lausanne. He has published numerous research papers and books including Greater Magadha (Brill 2007) and Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism (Brill 2011).
