UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SHARMA CH 11-12: JAINISM + BUDDHISM + IRON AGE MATERIAL LIFE
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Why did Buddhism + Jainism emerge in the 6th c. BCE?
Sharma's 4 main reasons: (i) BRAHMIN dominance + complex/expensive Vedic rituals alienated common people; (ii) RIGID VARNA system + caste oppression of Shudras + women; (iii) NEW URBAN economy created MERCHANT (Vaishya) class who resented Brahmin-Kshatriya monopoly + wanted egalitarian religion; (iv) IRON-tool-driven AGRARIAN expansion + animal sacrifice in Vedic rituals (esp. cattle) was wasteful — new religions OPPOSED killing of animals.
Who were the SRAMANAS?
Wandering ascetics of the 6-5th c. BCE who REJECTED Vedic authority + Brahmin priesthood; renounced family + property + caste; lived by begging; sought MOKSHA / NIRVANA through self-discipline + meditation. Buddhism + Jainism + Ajivikas + Charvakas + many other "heterodox" schools were all sramana movements.
Other heterodox schools of the time?
(i) AJIVIKAS — founded by MAKKHALI GOSALA (a contemporary of Mahavira); believed in NIYATI (absolute determinism — fate decides everything); had royal patronage (Ashoka, Dasharatha — Barabar caves); died out by ~14th c. (ii) CHARVAKA / LOKAYATA — radical materialism; rejected soul + afterlife + gods; "Eat, drink, be merry — when the body burns, that's the end." (iii) PURANA KASSAPA — moral nihilism; (iv) PAKUDHA KACCAYANA — atomism; (v) AJITA KESAKAMBALI — annihilationism.
6 reasons for new religious movements (Sharma)?
(i) BRAHMINICAL RITUALISM had become expensive + exclusive; (ii) CASTE rigidity oppressed lower varnas + women; (iii) IRON AGE economy created new merchant + artisan classes seeking spiritual paths beyond varna; (iv) URBANISATION + monetisation led to anxieties about wealth + meaning; (v) PHILOSOPHICAL questioning grew (Upanishadic precedent); (vi) WANDERING ASCETICS (sramanas) provided model + audience.
Who were the SHRAMANAS?
SHRAMANAS = wandering ascetics who REJECTED Vedic ritualism + Brahmin authority. Six major shramana traditions in 6th c. BCE: (i) JAINISM (Mahavira); (ii) BUDDHISM (Buddha); (iii) AJIVIKAS (Makkhali Goshala — fatalism); (iv) Ajitakeshakambalin (materialism); (v) Pakudha Kachchayana (atomism); (vi) Sanjay Belatthaputta (skepticism). Buddha + Mahavira survived; others died out.
What was COMMON to all shramana movements?
(i) REJECTION of Vedic ritual + Brahmin authority; (ii) AHIMSA (non-violence) + ethical conduct; (iii) ASCETIC lifestyle (renunciation, meditation); (iv) PERSONAL liberation (moksha/nirvana) over divine grace; (v) USE of vernacular languages (Pali, Prakrit) instead of Sanskrit; (vi) OPENNESS to all castes + women + lower social orders.
Who were Rishabhanatha + Parshvanatha (the 1st + 23rd Tirthankaras)?
JAINISM has 24 TIRTHANKARAS (ford-makers / spiritual liberators). RISHABHANATHA (Adinatha) — 1st Tirthankara; legendary; considered prehistoric. PARSHVANATHA — 23rd Tirthankara; HISTORICAL figure (~872-772 BCE per Jain tradition); preached 4 vows (no killing, no lying, no stealing, no possession); his followers became MAHAVIRA's inheritors; Mahavira added the 5th vow (BRAHMACHARYA / celibacy).
Mahavira's 5 GREAT VOWS (Mahavratas)?
(i) AHIMSA (non-violence — extreme; even insects must not be harmed); (ii) SATYA (truth); (iii) ASTEYA (no stealing); (iv) APARIGRAHA (non-possession); (v) BRAHMACHARYA (celibacy — added by Mahavira). Made Jain monks the most ascetic of Indian renouncers — no agriculture (might kill insects), strict vegetarianism, sometimes even nudity.
3 JEWELS (Triratna) of Jainism?
(i) RIGHT FAITH (samyak darshana); (ii) RIGHT KNOWLEDGE (samyak jnana); (iii) RIGHT CONDUCT (samyak charitra). Together they lead to MOKSHA (liberation from rebirth).
Two Jain sects + how they emerged?
SCHISM ~3rd c. BCE during a 12-YEAR FAMINE in Magadha: BHADRABAHU led some monks SOUTH to Karnataka (where they remained STRICTLY ASCETIC + naked = DIGAMBARA "sky-clad"); STHULABHADRA stayed in Magadha + softened the rules (allowed white robes = SHVETAMBARA "white-clad"). Later disputes about: (i) is liberation possible for women (Digambaras say no, Shvetambaras say yes)? (ii) original scriptures (Digambaras claim lost; Shvetambaras have the Anga texts).
Major Jain pilgrimage centres in India?
(i) SHRAVANABELAGOLA (Karnataka — 17 m monolithic Bahubali / Gomateshwara statue, built 981 CE by Chamundaraya, minister of Western Ganga king). (ii) PALITANA (Gujarat — 863 temples on Shatrunjaya hill). (iii) MT. ABU (Rajasthan — DILWARA Jain marble temples, 11-13 c. CE). (iv) SAMMED SHIKHARJI (Jharkhand — 20 of 24 Tirthankaras attained moksha here). (v) KHAJURAHO (Jain section). (vi) RANAKPUR (Rajasthan — 1444 pillars, all unique).
Who were Chandragupta's + Kharavela's contributions to Jainism?
CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA — per Jain tradition, became a Jain monk under BHADRABAHU; died at Shravanabelagola by sallekhana (~298 BCE). KHARAVELA — Kalinga king (~1st c. BCE); great patron of Jainism; built UDAYAGIRI + KHANDAGIRI cave-monasteries near Bhubaneswar; HATHIGUMPHA inscription is one of the earliest Jain royal inscriptions.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Sharma Ch 11-12: Jainism + Buddhism + Iron Age Material Life. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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