Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After the Crucifixion

What happened to Jesus during the years that are largely absent from the canonical Gospel narratives? In Jesus Lived in India, theologian Holger Kersten investigates traditions and historical claims linking Jesus with India and the broader East.

Drawing on sites, traditions and historical material from Israel, the Middle East, Afghanistan and India, Kersten proposes that Jesus travelled along the ancient Silk Road, studied Buddhism and later survived the Crucifixion before returning to India. The book further argues that Jesus died in old age in Kashmir. These are the central claims of Kersten's work rather than settled historical facts.

The book begins with the question of whether Jesus may have had an important connection with India and why such claims have generally been excluded from mainstream Christian narratives.

Kersten examines traditions and locations associated with Jesus across the Middle East and South Asia. He presents the theory that Jesus travelled to India in his youth, encountered Buddhist teachings and later returned to the region after surviving the Crucifixion. According to the book, Jesus eventually died in Kashmir and was buried in Srinagar.