Hinduism It was the early 320 B.
C.
when the famed Gupta dynasty came into throne and started a revival of the Hindu religion.
The term "revival" does not imply that the Hindu religion was non-existent in the previous centuries but the spread of the Hindu religion remained dormant before that time.
Although the arrival of Hinduism has not been documented and there is no certain theory about this, Religious facts state that in 1500 B.
C.
the Aryans were the ones who brought in this religion to the Indian sub-continent.
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion and reincarnation was a unique theme that resided within this religion.
The Hindu religion follows the 4 Vedas: the Rig veda, Shyam veda, Yajur veda and the Atharva Veda.
It has also 2 epics at its disposal, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.
These are the books that state the main principles of Hinduism although there are several other books like Upanishads.
Buddhism It was during the reign of Asoka (150 B.
C.
) when Buddhism spread its clutches in India.
Gautama Buddha was the founder of this religion.
According to the religious documents, the reincarnation of a life form can be avoided by following the 8 fold path preached by Gautama Buddha, and by meditation.
This religion spread itself very fast and Buddhists also paid attention to Hindu Gods.
Jainism Nearly at the same time (as above) another religion influenced the sub-continent.
It was Mahavira who preached principles that encouraged getting out of the reincarnation cycle.
This religion came to be known as Jainism and the followers are called Jains.
Islam It was in the middle of 1100 AD when a series of invasions by Muslim rulers invaded India.
This forced people to change their religions to Islam.
People were forbidden to pray to any God except Allah and thus Islam made its way into India.