This is a list of notable converts to Buddhism from Hinduism.
| Name | Former Hindu caste/category | Nationality | Notes | Refs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashoka | Indian | Third emperor of the Maurya Empire | [1] [2] | ||
| B. R. Ambedkar | Mahar | Indian | Polymath, the architect of the Indian Constitution, a revivalist of Buddhism in India | [3] [4] | |
| S. N. Goenka | Burmese-Indian | Teacher of Vipassana meditation | [5] [6] | ||
| Balachandran Chullikkadu | Indian | Malayalam language poet from Kerala | [7] | ||
| Jagdish Kashyap | Indian | Buddhist monk | [8] | ||
| Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan | Indian | Buddhist monk, writer, and scholar | [9] | ||
| Laxman Mane | Indian | Lawyer, Constitution expert, author and social worker | [10] | ||
| Aśvaghoṣa | Indian | Bhikkhu, philosopher, poet | [11] | ||
| Rupa Kulkarni-Bodhi | Brahmin | Indian | Social activist, Scholar of Buddhism, professor | [12] | |
| Sushama Andhare | Indian | Ambedkarite thinker, Sociopolitical activist, and orator | |||
| Swami Prasad Maurya | Indian | politician | [13] | ||
| Udit Raj | Indian | Ambedkarite thinker, social activist and Buddhist polemicist | [14] | ||
| Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963) | Indian | Hindi author and translator | |||
| Iyothee Thass (1845–1914) | Indian | Siddha practitioner and leader of the Dravidian movement | [15] | ||
| Lenin Raghuvanshi (born 1970) | Indian | [16] | |||
| Lalai Singh Yadav (1921–1993) | Indian | social justice activist and play writer | [17] | ||
| Suresh Bhat (1932–2003) | Brahmin | Indian | Poet and writer | [18] | |
| Kabir Bedi (born 1946) | Indian | Film actor | [19] | ||
| Vinay Jain | Indian | television actor | [20] | ||
| Shibani Kashyap | Indian | singer | [21] [22] | ||
| Barkha Madan | Indian | Former model, film actress, and Buddhist nun | [23] | ||
| Pracheen Chauhan | Indian | television actor | [24] | ||
| Tisca Chopra (born 1973) | Indian | actress, author and film producer | [25] | ||
| Manav Gohil | Indian | Television actor | [26] | ||
| Sweta Keswani (born 1980), | Indian | actress, dancer and model | |||
| Poonam Joshi (born 1980) | Brahmin | Indian | television soap opera actress | [27] | |
| Gagan Malik | Indian | actor | A Hindu by birth Malik has embraced Buddhism on Poson Poya day in 2014 in Mihintale, Sri Lanka.[28] [29] [30] | ||
| Niranjan Singh | Indian | Developer, swimmer, Cricketer, Cyclist |
Since Ambedkar's conversion, several thousand people from different castes have converted to Buddhism in ceremonies including the twenty-two vows.