While Buddhism continued to flourish in many parts of South Asia during the Gupta period, the burgeoning of Hinduism and the worship of Hindu images led to changes in state patronage and encouraged the wide acceptance of image worship. At Bodhgayā, in eastern India, a temple was constructed beside the Bodhi tree, the place where the Buddha had meditated and gained enlightenment. The temple housed a Buddha image and marked the recognition – at the most sacred place of Buddhist pilgrimage – that images could serve as suitable memorials of the Buddha and his spiritual achievements. The temple was constructed by the monk Māhanāma who came to Bodhgayā from Sri Lanka in the 6th century AD.

A large and important temple was also constructed at Sarnāth, the site of the Buddha’s first sermon. Although little more than foundations survive, sculptures show that Sarnāth had become an important centre of artistic production, developing an ethereal style to represent the Buddha’s sublime and timeless qualities, over and above his ordinary human characteristics. This approach reflected philosophical speculation in the Buddhist schools about the Buddha’s nature and transcendent identity. Similar images were made in many parts of Asia, the influence of Sarnāth being especially strong in the later images at Ajantā and Kānheri, large monastic sites in the Deccan.