INTRODUCTION

Like Jainism, Buddhism also held sway in ancient Kerala during the reign of Asoka in the 3rd century B. C. Coming by sea, Buddhism was popular in coastal districts, Karumati, Mavelikkara, Bharanikkavu, Pallikkel, Karunagappalli, Idappalli, Dharmapattanam, Matayi and Pallikkunnu being its chief centres.

Many prominent Hindu temples of today like the Vadakkunnathan temple, Trichur, and the Kurumba Bhagavati temple, Kodungallur, and even the famous Ayyappa shrine atop Sabarimala are believed to have been at one time Buddhist shrines. The most important centre of Buddhist pilgrimage was
Srimulavasam, which is now under the sea.

The Buddhist religion also began to decline from the 8th century and finally disappeared in the 12th century following vigorous propaganda by Hindu reformers like Sankaracharya. Both Jainism and Buddhism, who could not be easily distinguished from each other even by the learned, made very little appeal the upper classes. Their strength lay among the comparatively backward classes. Even to them in course of time they tended to become less and less attractive.
 
 

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