Stories of merchants are notably absent in Brahmin scriptures but are widespread in Buddhist scriptures. Shortly after the Buddha attained Nirvana, he was met by two merchants who fed him but admitted they could not practise the rigorous meditation techniques. The Buddha, therefore, advised them to spread the word of the dhamma by building stupas containing his relics. He even gave them a lock of his hair and demonstrated the design of the stupa by overturning a bowl on to a folded cloth.

Thus began the tradition of building stupas and funding Buddhist activities, earning merchants good karma and, consequently, good fortune, effectively transforming Buddhism into a form of prosperity gospel. This aspect of Buddhism is rarely highlighted. This is because the Europeans saw in Buddha an anti-ritualist anti-Hindu rational thinker in the 19th century. Then Buddhism was seen as a social justice by Dalit politicians, and its new form was named Navayana Buddhism. The long mercantile history of Buddhism was eclipsed, especially its role in promoting entrepreneurship, trade and banking.

Many merchants supported Buddhism, as evidenced in the storytelling traditions. For instance, there is the story of Kumbhaka Gosha. During an epidemic, a young merchant's family was wiped out. The surviving son was told the secret location of a hidden treasure but was advised to flee and return only after 12 years. When the boy returned as a young man, he realised that retrieving the treasure would likely lead to his arrest by the authorities. Instead, he took a job as a town crier. His voice impressed King Bimbisara, who suspected that the boy came from an aristocratic background. The king sent a maid to uncover the truth. Upon learning the boy's story, the king was impressed by his intelligence and made him part of the royal household.

It is well known that the Buddha had two male disciples and two female disciples, but he also had a male and a female merchant who funded his earliest institutions. The Jetavana, where the Buddha delivered his sermons, was purchased by a generous merchant named Anathapindika, who continued to support the Buddhist establishment even after falling into poverty. His devotion impressed the gods, who ensured that all those who owed him repaid their loans, thereby restoring Anathapindika's fortunes.

Vishakha, a wealthy Buddhist woman, married into a Jain household but impressed her father-in-law with her intelligence, ultimately leading him to convert to Buddhism. On one occasion, she remarked that he was eating stale food, which angered him until she explained that the "stale food" referred to the old karma that had brought him wealth. She told him that to generate new karma, he needed to support the Buddhist establishment.

Much later, in the Milinda Panha, we hear of the courtesan Bindumati, who treated all her customers equally, regardless of their social status, so long as they paid her fee. This impartial treatment of customers was said to be the reason for her fortune. Courtesans, being independent women who did not gain status in society because they refused to take husbands, often patronised Buddhism by feeding monks. For example, the courtesan Amrapali purchased a mango orchard for the Buddha.

This explains why Buddhist sites are typically found along trading routes across India, highlighting the deep connection between Buddhism and the merchant community. Bharhut and Sanchi, the earliest Buddhist stupas, were built along trade routes from Pataliputra towards Narmada and Gujarat. Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri and Bhaja caves mark the trade routes connecting the Godavari Basin to the western seaport of Supara near modern Mumbai. Nagarjunakonda marks the Buddhist part of Andhra while Kanaganahalli is located in the Buddhist trade centres of Karnataka. Gandhara Buddhist art near Peshawar marks the Buddhis trade routes that connected to Kabul and beyond. Mathura on the banks of Yamuna, a major trading centre, was also famous for the earliest Buddha images, which are nearly 2,000 years' old. Trading centres along the Mahanadi river of Odisha and sites like Sirpur and Ratnagiri were all trading centres as well as Buddhist sites.

In Mahayana Buddhism, which developed around 500 AD, we find images of Avalokiteshwara being invoked by traders and sailors to protect them from maritime disasters, wild animals, accidents and thieves. These are found at eastern and western coastal sites of India, Sri Lanka and Java.

Ashokan edicts are all found on Buddhist trade routes. For the income of the royal Mauryan state came from toll tax. The Ashokan wheel was not simply Buddha's dharma-chakra, it was also the wheel of caravans, and a symbol of highways radiating in and out of the royal market. In Buddhist lore, Buddha was described as the great caravan leader and guardian. So it is as much an economic reason that brought Ashoka close to Buddhism as it was spiritual reasons.