The Hindu ruler Pushyamitra Sunga had destroyed 84,000 Buddhist stupas which were built by Emperor Ashoka. This was followed by the demolition of Buddhist centres in Magadha. Thousands of Buddhist saints were killed mercilessly. King Jalaluka destroyed the Buddha viharas within his jurisdiction on the ground that chanting of hymns by Buddhists disturbed his sleep! In Kashmir, King Kinnara demolished thousands of viharas and captured the Buddhist villages to please Brahmins. A large number of Buddha viharas were usurped by Brahmins and converted into Hindu temples where entry of %u2018untouchables%u2019 was prohibited. Notably, Buddhist places were regularized as Hindu temples by writing Puranas, which were invented myths or pseudo history. The important temples at Aihole, Undavalli, Ellora, Bengal, Puri, Badarinath, Mathura, Ayodhya, Bodhigaya, Saranath, Nalanda, Gudimallam, Nagarjunakonda, and Srisailam are some of the striking examples of Brahminical usurpation of Buddhist centres.
