The Road to Buddhism

Dr. Ambedkar did not change his religion in a hurry. He announced in 1935 that he would leave Hinduism, but he took the final step only in October 1956, seven weeks before he died. In between, he read, travelled, argued and wrote, trying to find a religion that treated every human being as equal Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, 1950s Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, 3rd ed., p. 502.

He chose Buddhism, the religion founded in India by Gautama Buddha about 2,500 years ago. This chapter tells how he got there, what he promised at Nagpur, and what he wrote to explain his choice.

A gift from a family friend

Bhimrao’s first meeting with the Buddha came through a book. When he passed an important school examination, his community held a meeting to congratulate him. It was chaired by Krishnaji Arjun Keluskar, a teacher and writer who knew his father. At the end, Keluskar gave him a copy of his own book on the life of the Buddha Columbia University – Ambedkar’s unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma.

Keluskar had published this biography in Marathi in 1898, and gave it to Bhimrao after he passed the Matriculation examination of Bombay University in 1907 BAWS Vol. 11, Vasant Moon’s preface, p. ix. Many years later, Dr. Ambedkar remembered how it affected him:

“I read the book with great interest, and was greatly impressed and moved by it.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma, dated 6 April 1956 Columbia University – Pritchett edition

In the same preface he said that he had compared the Buddha’s story with the epics his father made him read, and that this was “the origin” of his interest in the Buddha Columbia University – unpublished preface.

The Yeola promise, 1935

For years Dr. Ambedkar tried to win equal rights inside Hinduism, for example through the Kalaram temple-entry campaign at Nashik. By 1935 he felt this effort had failed. At a conference of the “Depressed Classes” (the official name then for communities treated as “untouchable”) at Yeola, near Nashik, on 13 October 1935, he spoke for about an hour and a half to around 10,000 people BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 94–95.

He said he had been born a Hindu “untouchable” without any choice, but it was in his power to refuse to live under humiliating conditions. Then came the line that became famous:

“I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar at Yeola, 13 October 1935, as reported in Keer’s biography and reprinted in BAWS BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 95

Mahatma Gandhi responded that “religion is not like house or cloak which can be changed at will” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 97. Dr. Ambedkar replied that the decision was not made in anger, and that “Hindu religion is not good for us” because inequality was its very basis BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 98, quoting The Bombay Chronicle, 16 October 1935.

Twenty years of study

Dr. Ambedkar did not name a new religion at once. In 1936 he spoke at a Sikh conference in Amritsar and repeated that he would leave Hinduism Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, 1930s. He studied many faiths. In 1956 he wrote that his belief in Buddhism had “grown in me after thirty-five years of close study of all religions” Columbia University – unpublished preface.

Describing his Nagpur speech of 1956, Keer writes that he “did not believe in hurried action” and took “more than twenty years” to reach a mature decision Keer, Life and Mission, p. 502.

Buddha and the Future of His Religion (1950)

In May 1950 he published an essay called “Buddha and the Future of His Religion” in the Maha Bodhi, the journal of the Maha Bodhi Society in Calcutta BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, pp. 97 and 108. It is one of the clearest short explanations of his thinking.

He compared the Buddha with other religious founders. The Buddha, he wrote, never claimed to be God or God’s messenger, and told his followers to accept his teaching only if it agreed with reason and experience BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, pp. 97–98.

He then set four tests for any religion fit for the modern world. It must hold society together through morality. It must agree with science and reason. Its moral code must accept liberty, equality and fraternity (brotherhood). And it must not praise poverty as holy BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 104. His conclusion:

“So far as I know, the only religion which satisfies all these tests is Buddhism.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, “Buddha and the Future of His Religion” (1950) BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 105

His sharpest criticism of Hinduism in the essay was about caste. He wrote that “the official gospel of Hinduism is inequality”, with the four-varna system (Chaturvarna) as its “concrete embodiment”, while “Buddha stood for equality” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 100. He ended by proposing a short Buddhist “Bible”, a more socially active community of monks, and a world Buddhist mission BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 105.

Journeys to Sri Lanka and Burma

Sri Lanka, 1950. In May 1950 Dr. Ambedkar, then India’s Law Minister, flew to Colombo with his wife Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, 1950s Keer, Life and Mission, p. 421. The World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) was holding its first conference at Kandy from 25 May to 6 June 1950, with delegates from 27 countries. He told the gathering: “I am an interested observer, not a delegate.” He had come, he said, to watch Buddhist ceremonies and to see whether Buddhism there was a living force BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 404.

On 6 June 1950 he spoke in Colombo on the rise and fall of Buddhism in India. He argued that Buddhism had “disappeared, in material form” but still lived in India “as a spiritual force” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 406–409.

Burma, 1954. He went to Rangoon (Yangon) twice in 1954: in May for Buddha Jayanti celebrations, and in December for the third World Buddhist conference Keer, Life and Mission, pp. 453 and 481. For the Burmese Buddhist council he wrote a plan for reviving Buddhism in India. He argued that India, the Buddha’s birthplace, was the easiest place to start, because “the Buddha needs no passport nor does He require any visa” there BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 506–507.

The plan asked for a short Buddhist gospel and a proper conversion ceremony for lay people, because simply reciting the five precepts did not make a person feel he was “ceasing to be a Hindu” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 508–509. Back home, on 25 December 1954, he installed a Buddha image brought from Rangoon at a new vihara (Buddhist temple) at Dehu Road near Pune BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 513 Keer, Life and Mission, p. 482.

The Buddhist Society of India, 1955

On 4 May 1955 Dr. Ambedkar registered the Buddhist Society of India, known in Marathi and Hindi as the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha. He announced it publicly at Nare Park, Bombay, on 8 May 1955 BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 478.

Its aims included spreading Buddhism in India, building temples, schools, hospitals and orphanages, training Buddhist workers, comparing all religions, and publishing Buddhist books. He was named its first president, for life BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, pp. 478–482.

In a BBC talk on 12 May 1956 he summed up why he preferred Buddhism: “it gives three principles in combination which no other religion does”. These were prajna (understanding), karuna (love) and samata (equality) BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 515.

Why Nagpur, and who led the ceremony

On 23 September 1956 he announced from Delhi that his conversion would take place at Nagpur on Dussehra, 14 October 1956. The official account also calls the day Ashoka Vijayadashami, the name his followers use for it BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 524.

He asked Bhante U Chandramani (Mahasthavir Chandramani) of Kushinara (Kushinagar) to perform it, writing that “You being the oldest Buddhist Monk in India we think it would be appropriate” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 525–526. Biographer Dhananjay Keer gives the monk’s age as 83 Keer, Life and Mission, p. 500.

Why Nagpur? In his speech the next day he said it was not to challenge anyone. He believed the ancient Nag people had spread Buddhism across India, and that Nagpur was their home region Columbia University – “Why Was Nagpur Chosen?”, trans. Damle and Zelliot.

14 October 1956: the Dhamma Diksha

The ceremony was held on open ground near the Vaccine Institute in Nagpur, now called Deekshabhoomi (“the ground of initiation”) BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 527–528. People came for days by train and bus, many dressed in white as he had asked Keer, Life and Mission, p. 497.

At about 9.30 a.m. Dr. Ambedkar and his wife, Dr. Savita (Maisaheb) Ambedkar, stood with folded hands before an image of the Buddha. Chandramani recited in Pali the Three Refuges (in the Buddha, the Dhamma or teaching, and the Sangha or community) and the five precepts, and they repeated them BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 528–530.

Then he turned to the crowd. He asked those who wished to leave Hinduism and become Buddhists to stand. The whole gathering stood, and he led them through the refuges, the precepts and 22 vows BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 530. Keer writes that the vows were “framed by himself” and that his voice choked as he renounced the old faith Keer, Life and Mission, p. 500.

The next morning more people were initiated, and he gave a long speech in Marathi explaining his choice BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 533. In it he said:

“I do not want blind followers. Those who wish to embrace Buddhism, they should accept it with comprehension.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Nagpur, 15 October 1956 (translated from Marathi) BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 536

How many people converted?

Nobody counted exactly, and the sources give different numbers. They also sometimes mix up the size of the crowd with the number of converts.

• About 3 lakh (300,000) converts – Keer says “over three lakhs” watched and “nearly three lakhs” embraced Buddhism on 14 October Keer, Life and Mission, pp. 500–501.
• About 4 lakh (400,000) – the figure used by the scholar Ananya Vajpeyi Open magazine – “The Guru Ambedkar”.
• About 5 lakh (500,000) – D. Valisinha of the Maha Bodhi Society, an eyewitness, wrote that Dr. Ambedkar and “500,000 of his followers” took the refuges and precepts BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 545. A month later the WFB president, G. P. Malalasekera, spoke of “half a million” converts Keer, Life and Mission, p. 507.
• 5 to 6 lakh present – the Marathi weekly Prabuddha Bharat reported that about 5–6 lakh people had gathered by 9.30 a.m. BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 528.

Dr. Ambedkar himself wrote two weeks later that “the crowd that came forward for conversion was beyond my expectation” Keer, Life and Mission, p. 506, quoting his letter of 30 October 1956.

The 22 vows

Here are the 22 vows in plain English. They follow the English text printed in the official collected works, which reproduces the report in Prabuddha Bharat, 27 October 1956. The vows were spoken in Marathi, so English wordings differ slightly from book to book BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 530–532.

1. I will not believe in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), and I will not worship them.
2. I will not believe in Rama and Krishna, and I will not worship them.
3. I will not believe in Gauri, Ganapati or the other gods and goddesses of Hinduism, and I will not worship them.
4. I do not believe that God is born on earth in different forms (the idea of avatars).
5. I do not and will not believe that the Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu. I believe this claim is false and mischievous propaganda.
6. I will not perform shraddha or give pind-daan (rituals and offerings made for the dead).
7. I will not act in any way against the principles and teachings of the Buddha.
8. I will not have any ceremony performed by Brahmin priests.
9. I believe that all human beings are equal.
10. I will try to establish equality.
11. I will follow the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha.
12. I will follow the ten paramitas (perfections or virtues) taught by the Buddha.
13. I will be compassionate to all living beings and look after them with care.
14. I will not steal.
15. I will not lie.
16. I will not commit sexual wrongdoing.
17. I will not drink alcohol.
18. I will try to live by three Buddhist principles: pradnya (wisdom), sheel (good conduct) and karuna (compassion).
19. I give up my old religion, Hinduism, which (in the words of the vow) harms the progress of humanity and discriminates between human beings, treating some as low; and I embrace Buddhism.
20. I firmly believe that the Buddha’s Dhamma is the true Dhamma (Saddhamma).
21. I believe I am entering a new life.
22. From now on I pledge to live according to the teachings of the Buddha.

The first vows reject Hindu gods, rituals and the idea that the Buddha was a Hindu avatar. Dr. Ambedkar meant them as a clear break, like the “ceremony like Baptism” he had asked for in 1954 BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 509. Not everyone agreed. Justice Niyogi, a former Chief Justice of the Nagpur High Court who converted the same day, said that denouncing Hinduism had no place in the original Buddhist rituals Keer, Life and Mission, p. 501.

Chandrapur, 16 October 1956

Two days later Dr. Ambedkar went to Chanda, the town now called Chandrapur, in eastern Maharashtra. There “the vast gathering” of Depressed Class people repeated the vows after him. He then left for Delhi Keer, Life and Mission, p. 504. Keer gives no number. One later article says four lakh people converted there, but we could not confirm this from another source SabrangIndia – “Caste out” (2006).

Navayana: “a new vehicle”?

Buddhism has several great traditions, often called yanas or “vehicles”, such as Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Today Dr. Ambedkar’s form of Buddhism is often called Navayana, “the new vehicle” INFLIBNET e-PG Pathshala – “Navayana Buddhism”.

Where does the word come from? Keer reports that at a press conference on 13 October 1956 Dr. Ambedkar said his Buddhism would follow the Buddha’s own teaching and avoid the old Hinayana–Mahayana differences. Keer then writes: “His Buddhism would be a sort of neo-Buddhism or Navayana” Keer, Life and Mission, p. 498. This is Keer’s summary, not a recorded quotation. Some later writers quote it as Dr. Ambedkar’s own words INFLIBNET e-PG Pathshala.

The label is debated. The 22 vows do not use it; they speak only of the “Buddha Dhamma” BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 531. Scholars write of “Navayana”, “neo-Buddhism” or “Ambedkarite Buddhism” Journal of Global Buddhism, Menšíková (2023) Open magazine – Vajpeyi. Writers also disagree about whether he meant to found a separate new school or simply to restore what he saw as the Buddha’s original teaching Open magazine – Vajpeyi.

What is clear is how he read Buddhism. In the introduction to The Buddha and His Dhamma he questioned the traditional story of why the Buddha left home, and asked whether the Four Noble Truths and the usual ideas of karma and rebirth were part of the Buddha’s original teaching. He also asked whether monks should be perfect hermits or “social servants” Columbia University – Introduction to The Buddha and His Dhamma. Some traditional Buddhist reviewers in 1959 strongly criticised these views, while his followers took the book as their scripture Keer, Life and Mission, p. 521 BAWS Vol. 11, Vasant Moon’s preface, p. vii.

Three books on Buddhism

The Buddha and His Dhamma. Keer says Dr. Ambedkar began this book in November 1951. It was typed and retyped many times by his secretary Nanak Chand Rattu and by Parkash Chand, and a trial version was printed for private circulation Keer, Life and Mission, pp. 488–489. It was finished in 1956 and printing began in May, but he did not live to see it published Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, 1950s. It appeared in 1957 as “Siddharth College Publication: I” BAWS Vol. 11, title page.

He was modest about it. In the unpublished preface he wrote: “I claim no originality for the book. It is a compilation and assembly plant.” He called it the first of “three books which will form a set for the proper understanding of Buddhism” Columbia University – unpublished preface.

Buddha or Karl Marx. This essay compares the Buddha’s way with communism. It opens: “A comparison between Karl Marx and Buddha may be regarded as a joke” BAWS Vol. 3, p. 441. He argued that both wanted to end suffering and exploitation, but that the Buddha’s way of changing people’s minds was safer and more lasting than force. He made the same case in a speech in Kathmandu in November 1956 BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 555–558. The text in his collected works was put together from three typed copies, two corrected in his own handwriting BAWS Vol. 3, p. 439.

Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India. This was planned as a big work in several books. It saw the rise of Buddhism as a revolution and the return of Brahminical power as a counter-revolution. He never finished it. The editors found only “some pages and few chapters”, and published them as an incomplete set BAWS Vol. 3, p. 149.

Where sources disagree

• When Keluskar gave him the book. The unpublished preface says it was after the “English Fourth Standard Examination”. Keer and the BAWS editor Vasant Moon say it was after the Matriculation in 1907 unpublished preface Keer, pp. 19–20 BAWS Vol. 11, p. ix.
• Wording of the Yeola vow. Keer’s report gives “I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu”. His own Nagpur speech recalls it as “Though I am born as a Hindu I will not die as a Hindu” (BAWS translation), or “Even though I was born in the Hindu religion, I will not die in the Hindu religion” (Damle–Zelliot translation). The original was in Marathi BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 95 and 536 Columbia – Damle & Zelliot translation.
• Date of the Maha Bodhi article. BAWS dates it to May 1950 (Vol. 58). The unpublished preface remembers it as 1951 BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, p. 108 unpublished preface.
• Date of the preface. Keer says he wrote the preface on 15 March 1956. The surviving unpublished preface is dated 6 April 1956 Keer, p. 489 unpublished preface.
• Crowd at Dehu Road (1954). Keer says 20,000; a police report quoted in BAWS says about 4,000 Keer, p. 482 BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, p. 513.
• Number of converts at Nagpur and Chandrapur. See the list above: estimates run from about 3 lakh to 5 lakh converts at Nagpur, with crowd estimates up to 6 lakh. One 2006 article claims 15 lakh at Nagpur and 4 lakh at Chandrapur, which no other source we found supports SabrangIndia.
• Publisher. The title page says “Siddharth College Publication”. Vasant Moon says the People’s Education Society, the body that runs Siddharth College, published it BAWS Vol. 11, title page BAWS Vol. 11, p. vii.

Read more

• The 22 vows and the Nagpur ceremony, BAWS Vol. 17 Part 3, pp. 524–546 — the official collected-works account, with the Nagpur speech in English.
• “Why Was Nagpur Chosen?” (Columbia University) — Eleanor Zelliot and Rekha Damle’s translation of his 15 October 1956 speech.
• The Buddha and His Dhamma, full text (Columbia University) — with the unpublished preface and introduction.
• The Buddha and His Dhamma, BAWS Vol. 11 (PDF) — official edition, with Vasant Moon’s list of Pali sources.
• “Buddha and the Future of His Religion”, BAWS Vol. 17 Part 2, pp. 97–108 — his 1950 essay.
• Buddha or Karl Marx and Revolution and Counter-Revolution, BAWS Vol. 3 — his unfinished companion works.
• Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission (Internet Archive) — the classic biography; chapters “Revival of Buddhism” and “The Last Journey”.