Buddhism and Dynastic Power in South India

Buddhism and Dynastic Power in South India (Circa AD 300-1300) is a 2024 academic publication authored by the eminent historian Professor S. Pathmanathan, a veteran Tamil scholar and former Chancellor of the University of Jaffna. Released as the third volume in a series compiling his extensive research, the book aggregates nine specialized essays originally published across various academic journals, seminar proceedings, and scholarly felicitation volumes.

The first part of the book contains five detailed articles focusing on the historical footprints and institutional survival of Buddhism in South India during the Pallava and Chola reigns. The remaining four chapters pivot toward broader themes of social formation, royal court dynamics, and the exercise of dynastic power during these same influential eras. Ultimately, Pathmanathan clarifies that the text is not designed to project any intrinsic, theological connection between Buddhist doctrines and regional concepts of kingship, but rather highlights how the religion dynamically navigated the shifting political structures of medieval South India.