Ronald Inden writes that by the 8th century CE symbols of Hindu gods "replaced the Buddha at the imperial centre and pinnacle of the cosmo-political system, the image or symbol of the Hindu god comes to be housed in a monumental temple and given increasingly elaborate imperial-style puja worship". Although Buddhism did not disappear from India for several centuries after the eighth, royal proclivities for the cults of <answer>Vishnu and Shiva</answer> weakened Buddhism's position within the sociopolitical context and helped make possible its decline.
What cults weakened Buddhism in India?
Vishnu and Shiva