This Hindu synthesis emerged after the Vedic period, between 500-200 BCE and c. 300 CE, in the period of the Second Urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism, when the Epics and the first Puranas were composed. This Brahmanical synthesis incorporated śramaṇic and Buddhist influences and the emerging "bhakti" tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the "smriti" literature. This synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism. During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were written, which were used to disseminate "mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and tribal groups undergoing acculturation." The resulting Puranic Hinduism differed markedly from the earlier Brahmanism of the Dharmaśāstras and the "smritis". Hinduism co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism, to finally gain the upper hand at all levels in the 8th century.