Siddhartha Gautama attains enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and teaches in the Ganges plain, founding Buddhism.
Approximate date.
Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, founding the first empire to unite most of the Indian subcontinent.
Emperor Ashoka conquers Kalinga; the war's devastation leads him to embrace Buddhism.
Emperor Ashoka has edicts inscribed on rocks and pillars across his empire, promoting Buddhist ethics and tolerance.
According to tradition, the monk Mahinda, son of Ashoka, brings Buddhism to Anuradhapura and converts King Devanampiya Tissa.
Chandragupta I takes the throne, beginning the Gupta era, often regarded as a golden age of Indian science, art and literature.
Under the Guptas, the monastery of Nalanda in Bihar is founded and becomes Asia's foremost centre of Buddhist learning for centuries.