what was the religion in india before hinduism
History of Hinduism After the Vedic period, between 500[12]-200[36] BCE and c. 300 CE,[12] at the beginning of the "Epic and Puranic" c.q. "Preclassical" period, the "Hindu synthesis" emerged,[12][36] which incorporated śramaṇic[36][37] and Buddhist influences[36][38] and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the smriti literature.[39][36] This synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism.[40] During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were written,[41][note 8] which were used to disseminate "mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and tribal groups undergoing acculturation."[41] The resulting Puranic Hinduism differed markedly from the earlier Brahmanism of the Dharmaśāstras and the smritis.[41][note 9] Hinduism co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism,[42] to finally gain the upper hand at all levels in the 8th century.[43][web 1][note 10]