WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -Epigraphical evidence has established that Theravāda Buddhism became a dominant religion in the Southeast Asian kingdoms of Sri Ksetra and Dvaravati from about the 5th century CE onwards. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language are gold plates found at Sri Ksetra dated circa the 5th to 6th century.

Detailed explanation-2: -Buddhism can be safely divided into two broad branches: Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinayana refers to the original Buddhists in ancient India, and contemporary followers of those earliest traditions. Mahayana refers to everything else, and include Vajrayana Buddhism which is properly seen as a subset of the Mahayana.