This is a list of notable converts to Buddhism from Hinduism.
Name | Former Hindu caste/category | Nationality | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ashoka | Indian | Third emperor of the Maurya Empire | [1][2] | |
B. R. Ambedkar | Mahar | Indian | Polymath, the architect of the Indian Constitution, a revivalist of Buddhism in India | [3][4] |
S. N. Goenka | Burmese-Indian | Teacher of Vipassana meditation | [5][6] | |
Balachandran Chullikkadu | Indian | Malayalam language poet from Kerala | [7] | |
Jagdish Kashyap | Indian | Buddhist monk | [8] | |
Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan | Indian | Buddhist monk, writer, and scholar | [9] | |
Laxman Mane | Indian | Lawyer, Constitution expert, author and social worker | [10] | |
Aśvaghoṣa | Indian | Bhikkhu, philosopher, poet | [11] | |
Rupa Kulkarni-Bodhi | Brahmin | Indian | Social activist, Scholar of Buddhism, professor | [12] |
Sushama Andhare | Indian | Ambedkarite thinker, Sociopolitical activist, and orator | ||
Swami Prasad Maurya | Indian | politician | [13] | |
Udit Raj | Indian | Ambedkarite thinker, social activist and Buddhist polemicist | [14] | |
Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963) | Indian | Hindi author and translator | [8] | |
Iyothee Thass (1845–1914) | Indian | Siddha practitioner and leader of the Dravidian movement | [15] | |
Lenin Raghuvanshi (born 1970) | Indian | activist, one of the founding members of PVCHR | [16] | |
Lalai Singh Yadav (1921–1993) | Indian | social justice activist and play writer | [17] | |
Suresh Bhat (1932–2003) | Brahmin | Indian | Poet and writer | [18] |
Kabir Bedi (born 1946) | Indian | Film actor | [19] | |
Vinay Jain | Indian | television actor | [20] | |
Shibani Kashyap | Indian | singer | [21][22] | |
Barkha Madan | Indian | Former model, film actress, and Buddhist nun | [23] | |
Pracheen Chauhan | Indian | television actor | [24] | |
Tisca Chopra (born 1973) | Indian | actress, author and film producer | [25] | |
Manav Gohil | Indian | Television actor | [26] | |
Sweta Keswani (born 1980), | Indian | actress, dancer and model | [27] | |
Poonam Joshi (born 1980) | Brahmin | Indian | television soap opera actress | [27] |
Gagan Malik | Indian | actor | A Hindu by birth Malik has embraced Buddhism on Poson Poya day in 2014 in Mihintale, Sri Lanka.[28][29][30] | |
Niranjan Singh | Indian | Developer, swimmer, Cricketer, Cyclist |
Since Ambedkar's conversion, several thousand people from different castes have converted to Buddhism in ceremonies including the twenty-two vows.
((cite web))
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Lists of religious converts to and from world religions | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abrahamic |
| ||||||||||||||||
Dharmic |
| ||||||||||||||||
Other |
|