Introduction: Two Streams of Indian Civilization
The Indian subcontinent has been home to some of the world’s oldest and most diverse religious traditions. Since prehistoric times, this region has served as a fertile ground for spiritual movements to emerge, evolve, and endure. The interplay between different belief systems, ways of life, and philosophical schools has shaped the very fabric of Indian history and culture.
Following the discovery of the Harappan (Indus Valley) civilization, historians began questioning earlier assumptions that the Aryans introduced sophisticated culture to a primitive land. Evidence now suggests the opposite — that the arriving Aryans encountered and eventually absorbed elements of a highly developed pre-existing civilization. While the Aryans established their own language, religion, and social systems, many features of the older culture survived and were quietly integrated into what came after.
This process of blending — of old and new, of indigenous and incoming — became the cornerstone of Indian civilization. Indian culture has always maintained a creative tension between the ancient and the modern, where both continuity and change are honored simultaneously.
Within this broader cultural story, scholars have identified two major streams of Indian religious tradition: the Brahmana tradition, rooted in Vedic and Aryan practices, and the Shramana tradition, which encompasses Jainism, Buddhism, the Ajivika movement, and related ascetic and yogic schools of thought.
What Does “Shramana” Actually Mean?
The word Shramana (written as Samana in Prakrit literature) carries deep philosophical meaning. Linguists and scholars trace it to three related roots, each of which illuminates a different dimension of what it meant to be a Shramana.
From Shrama (effort or labor): The most direct etymology connects Shramana to the Sanskrit root shram, meaning to strive or exert oneself. In this sense, a Shramana is one who attains spiritual elevation through personal effort and disciplined practice — through tapas (austerity). The phrase shraamyantiti shramanah tapasyantityarthah captures this: those who rise through their own effort are called Shramanas.
From Sama (equanimity): The second meaning points to equality and universal compassion. A Shramana is one who maintains an equal regard for all living beings, free from attachment, aversion, and discrimination. This is the vision of universal love — atmavat sarvabhuteshu — seeing all beings as equal to oneself. The Shrimad Bhagavata expresses this beautifully: “atmaaramah samadrishah praayashah shramanaa janah” — those who are self-contained and who see all with an equal eye are the true Shramanas.
From Shama (pacification): The third root refers to quieting the mind and subduing the passions. A Shramana is one who calms the mental fluctuations and subdues desires and cravings.
Taken together, the Shramana tradition rests on three pillars: Shrama (disciplined effort), Sama (equanimity), and Shama (mental pacification). These are not abstract ideals — they defined a lived way of life practiced by a distinct spiritual community for thousands of years.
How Old Is the Shramana Tradition? Tracing Its Pre-Vedic Roots
One of the most fascinating and debated questions in Indian religious history concerns the antiquity of the Shramana tradition. A significant group of scholars argues that the Shramana tradition predates the Vedas themselves and belongs to a non-Aryan religious substratum that existed long before the Aryans arrived in the subcontinent.
Evidence from the Indus Valley Civilization
Some of the most compelling early evidence comes from the archaeological sites of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Among the artifacts recovered from these sites is a seal depicting a figure seated in what appears to be a meditative posture — the so-called “Yogi Seal.” Some scholars have identified this figure as representing Rishabha (the first Jain Tirthankara) in the kayotsarga posture, a standing meditative stance used in Jain practice.
Beyond this famous seal, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have yielded numerous nude figurines and images that some historians interpret as representations of ascetics or yogis. These finds suggest that not only was yogic practice established in Harappan society, but the worship of yogic figures was also part of their spiritual life.
Additionally, the bull (vrishabha) — a central symbol in Jain iconography, associated directly with Rishabha — appears repeatedly on Harappan seals. Nudity and idol worship, both hallmarks of Jain Shramana practice, thus appear to have deep roots in the Harappan world.
The Keshi Hymn in the Rigveda
Remarkably, even within the Vedic corpus — the sacred texts of the Aryan tradition — we find vivid descriptions of a group of wandering ascetics whose practices closely mirror later Shramana ideals. The Keshi Sukta (Hymn of the Long-Haired One) in the Rigveda describes wandering sages called Vatarashana Munis — literally, “those girdled by the wind” — who went about wearing ochre-colored or dirty garments, maintained silence, practiced breath control, and were described as god-intoxicated, wind-borne beings:
“Munaayo vaatarashanah pishangaa vasate malaa. Vaatasyaanu dhraajim yanti yad devaso aviksata.” (The long-haired ones, girdled by the wind, wear yellow-brown garments smeared with dust. They follow the course of the wind when the gods have entered them.)
The hymn goes on to describe how ordinary people can only perceive the outer form of these sages, never their true inner nature. The attributes described — silence, breath practice, dust-smeared appearance, renunciation of conventional social norms — are strikingly consistent with Jain and Buddhist ascetic ideals.
The hymn also praises Keshi as the one who “holds fire, water, heaven, and earth” and who “causes all the elements of the world to be seen.” Keshi is described as a Kevalin — a being of luminous, complete knowledge, a term used extensively in Jainism.
The Bhagavata Purana Connection
The thread connecting Vedic Keshi with the Shramana tradition becomes even more explicit in the Bhagavata Purana. In that text, the god Vishnu himself takes birth as Rishabha — specifically to reveal and propagate the religion of the Vatarashana Shramana rishis:
“Dharman darshaytukamo vaatarashanaanam shramanaanam urdhvamanthinaam shuklaya tanvaavataara.” (He descended in a pure form desiring to reveal the dharma of the Vatarashana Shramana rishis, those who maintain upward vitality.)
This passage is significant for several reasons. First, it confirms that the Vatarashana Shramanas were a recognized and ancient community whose dharma required divine endorsement. Second, it explicitly connects Rishabha — universally recognized as the first Jain Tirthankara — to the broader Vedic cultural memory. Third, it suggests that what later became Jainism had roots so ancient that even the Brahmanical tradition felt compelled to accommodate them by incorporating Rishabha into the Vishnu avatar tradition.
Interestingly, the Shiva Mahapurana goes even further, listing Rishabha among Shiva’s twenty-eight yogavataras (yoga incarnations). The degree to which Rishabha was absorbed into both Shaivite and Vaishnavite cosmology speaks to how deeply the Shramana tradition was embedded in pre-classical Indian religiosity.
The Shramana Tradition in Vedic Literature: Munis, Yatis, and Vratas
Munis: The Silent Ones
References to munis (silent sages) appear throughout the oldest layers of Vedic literature. The Rigveda’s Keshi Sukta, as noted above, provides a rich portrait of these wandering ascetics. The Sarvanuramani of Katyayana lists the names of several Vatarashana munis: Juti, Vatajuti, Vrishanaka, Karikrata, Etasha, and Rishyashringa — the last of whom appears in multiple post-Vedic texts as a celibate forest ascetic.
What’s notable is that these munis were clearly distinct from Vedic priests. Their practices — refusing to bathe, avoiding tooth-cleaning (adantadhavana), maintaining deliberate silence, practicing breath control, and embracing wandering homelessness — would have seemed strange or even threatening to the settled Vedic world. The Rigvedic poet seems both fascinated and unsettled by them.
Yatis: The Self-Controllers
The Vedic literature also contains numerous references to yatis — self-controllers or strivers. While rishis, munis, and yatis are sometimes grouped together, the Brahmana texts reveal a growing hostility toward yatis specifically. The Tandya Mahabrahman, for instance, describes yatis as enemies of Indra — the chief Vedic deity — and includes a disturbing legend of Indra having yatis devoured by jackals and dogs, an act the other gods themselves condemned.
This hostility is telling. Yatis are described in the Brahmana texts as people who are opposed to Vedic ritual, who do not perform sacrifices like the Jyotishtoma, and who live by an entirely different code. In later Sanskrit literature, yati becomes a standard term for a Jain monk — and indeed, it remains in use in Jain communities today.
The Bhagavad Gita treats yatis more respectfully, describing them as free from anger, disciplined in mind, and liberated from passion — but even here, their path is distinct from the Vedic priestly path.
Vratas and Vratyas
The fifteenth chapter of the Atharvaveda deals with a mysterious group called the Vratyas — people who were “uninitiated” by Vedic standards, who spoke in non-Sanskrit vernacular (likely Prakrit), and who carried bows without bowstrings. Vedic texts like the Tandya Mahabrahman and various Shrautasutras discuss a special purification ritual, the Vratyastoma, designed to “cleanse” these individuals and bring them back into the Vedic fold.
The Vratyas were clearly outsiders to mainstream Vedic society. Their name may connect them to the concept of vrata (vow) — in Jain practice, the five main ethical principles (ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha) are called vratas, and those who observe them are called vratis. Those who did not formally take the vows but remained faithful to the dharma may have been the ones labeled Vratyas by their Vedic critics.
Manusmriti’s tenth chapter lists the Licchavi, Nata, and Malla tribes among the Vratyas — tribes that, significantly, play important roles in early Buddhist and Jain history.
Arhats and Arhat-Chaityas: Pre-Mahavira Shramana Institutions
Long before the lifetimes of Mahavira (the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankara, c. 599–527 BCE) and Gautama Buddha (c. 563–483 BCE), there existed communities centered around the ideal of the Arhat — one who has attained liberation through the complete destruction of karma.
The word Arhat comes from the root arh, meaning “to be worthy” or “to deserve worship.” In the Jain understanding, when a soul separates itself entirely from karma and attains Kevala Jnana (omniscient knowledge), that soul is called an Arhat. In the Rigveda, the verse “arhantaa chitpurodadhe’msheva devaaarvate” suggests that Arhats were recognized as objects of veneration even in the Vedic period.
Those who followed the Arhats were called Vratyas — a connection that further ties together the diverse strands of the Shramana world.
Arhat-chaityas (shrines or monuments to Arhats) are documented in Jain and Buddhist literature as pre-existing structures that predated the time of both Mahavira and the Buddha. This suggests an institutionalized Shramana religious culture with its own sacred spaces, long before the classical period.
The Five Types of Shramanas
Jain literature identifies five distinct types of Shramanas operating in ancient India:
“Niggantha, sakka, taavas, geruya, aajiva panchahaa samanaa” — Nirgranthas (Jains), Shakyas (Buddhists), Tapasas (generic ascetics), Gerukas (ochre-robed wanderers), and Ajivikas.
This classification reveals that the Shramana world was not monolithic. It contained multiple competing and cooperating schools, all sharing a broad commitment to renunciation, non-violence, and liberation from worldly existence — but differing on metaphysics, practice, and social organization.
The Jain monks within this system were known as Nirgranthas — “those without bonds.” This term appears in Pali Buddhist texts (Tripitaka), where Mahavira himself is referred to as Nigantha Nataputta (Nigrantha of the Nata clan). The term also appears in Vedic literature, suggesting an ancient lineage.
Shramanas in the Upanishads
The Mundaka Upanishad is particularly interesting in this context. The word mundaka literally means “the shaven-headed one” — a standard reference to a Shramana monk. Many scholars believe this Upanishad was composed by or strongly influenced by a shaven-headed renunciant, and its critique of Vedic sacrifice aligns closely with Shramana philosophical positions.
More broadly, the Upanishadic tradition itself — with its emphasis on inner knowledge over external ritual, on moksha (liberation) over sacrifice and worldly reward — reflects a significant cross-pollination between Brahmanic and Shramana thought. Many historians argue that Brahmins actually adopted the ideals of wandering renunciation (parivrajya) from the Shramanas, rather than the reverse.
The Deeper Historical Picture: What This All Means
Taken together, the evidence from archaeology, Vedic literature, Puranic texts, and Jain and Buddhist sources paints a remarkably consistent picture:
The Shramana tradition is ancient — likely pre-Vedic — rooted in the same Harappan cultural milieu that produced the yogic seals and the bull symbolism of Mohenjo-daro. When the Aryans arrived and established their Vedic civilization, they encountered this existing ascetic culture and engaged with it in complex ways: sometimes incorporating its figures (like Rishabha) into their own mythology, sometimes condemning its practitioners (yatis, munis, vratyas) as enemies or outsiders.
Over time, the Shramana tradition crystallized into recognizable historical movements — Jainism and Buddhism being the most prominent — but its roots ran much deeper than either of those historical founders. Mahavira and the Buddha were reformers and systematizers of an already ancient spiritual stream, not its inventors.
As the poet-historian Ramdhari Singh “Dinkar” beautifully summarized: “The Shramana culture existed in this land even before the arrival of the Aryans.”
The Lasting Legacy of the Shramana Tradition
The Shramana tradition’s influence on Indian — and world — civilization is immeasurable:
Philosophy and Ethics: The Shramana emphasis on non-violence (ahimsa), compassion, equanimity, and liberation from desire became foundational values not only in Jainism and Buddhism but in Hinduism itself, especially through the Bhagavad Gita’s ethic of non-attachment.
Monasticism: The institutions of the monastery, the wandering monk, the lay supporter — all have Shramana origins. These models spread from India to Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia through Buddhism.
Yoga and Meditation: The yogic practices described in the Keshi Sukta — breath control, silence, withdrawal from the senses — form the ancestral line of virtually all South Asian meditative traditions.
Language and Literature: The Shramanas’ use of vernacular languages like Prakrit and Pali, rather than Sanskrit, democratized religious knowledge and produced vast bodies of literature accessible to ordinary people.
Social Reform: The Shramana tradition consistently challenged caste hierarchies and Brahmanical privilege, providing an alternative vision of spiritual equality that continued to inspire social reformers throughout Indian history and into the modern era.
Conclusion: An Unbroken Thread
The Shramana tradition of ancient India is not a footnote in the history of religion — it is one of humanity’s oldest and most enduring spiritual experiments. From the ash-smeared, wind-girdled munis of the Rigveda to the carefully disciplined monks of the Jain and Buddhist traditions, a continuous thread of renunciation, inquiry, and compassion runs through Indian history.
Understanding this tradition means understanding that Indian civilization was never simply a Vedic or Brahmanical story. It was always a conversation — sometimes tense, sometimes fruitful — between two great streams of human wisdom. That conversation continues to shape South Asian religious and cultural life to this day.
For anyone seeking to understand the depth and complexity of ancient Indian thought, the Shramana tradition is not optional background — it is essential reading.