Rise of New Religious Movements
NCERT Class 6 - Our Pasts I • NCERT Class 12 - Themes in Indian History Part I, Chapter 4
Rise of New Religious Movements
The sixth century BCE saw a wave of new teachings across the middle Ganga plain. Expensive sacrifice, a hardening varna order and a new money economy all created questions the Vedic ritual system could not answer. Jainism and Buddhism survived; several other sects did not.
Religious causes
- Later Vedic sacrifices had become long, costly and dominated by priests, with heavy dakshina that ordinary households could not afford.
- The Upanishads had already shifted the question from ritual to knowledge, karma and rebirth - the new teachers pushed this further.
- Extreme ritual violence, including animal sacrifice, offended farming communities whose cattle were productive wealth.
- The Vedic texts were in Sanskrit, which most people did not speak; the new teachers used Pali and Prakrit.
Social and economic causes
- The varna order had become hereditary. Kshatriyas resented brahmana supremacy, and both Mahavira and the Buddha came from kshatriya clans.
- Iron ploughs and surplus created a rich merchant class (setthis) who had wealth but low ritual rank as vaishyas.
- The first punch-marked coins and growing trade made loans and interest common, which orthodox texts disapproved of; the new sects did not.
- The rise of towns such as Rajgir, Vaishali, Shravasti and Kaushambi produced a mobile population less tied to village ritual.
The other teachers of the age
- Buddhist texts remember six heterodox teachers active at the time, of whom the Buddha and Mahavira are only two.
- Makkhali Gosala founded the Ajivika sect, teaching niyati - that everything is fixed by destiny and effort changes nothing.
- Ajita Kesakambalin taught a materialist doctrine - only the four elements are real, and there is no afterlife. This line is linked to the later Charvaka or Lokayata school.
- Pakudha Kachchayana taught that reality is made of eternal, unchanging elements.
- Sanjaya Belatthiputta refused to give definite answers on metaphysical questions, a position later called agnostic.
| Teacher | School or idea |
|---|---|
| Vardhamana Mahavira | Jainism |
| Gautama Buddha | Buddhism |
| Makkhali Gosala | Ajivika, doctrine of niyati |
| Ajita Kesakambalin | Materialism, forerunner of Charvaka |
| Pakudha Kachchayana | Eternal elements |
| Sanjaya Belatthiputta | Agnosticism, no definite answer |
What the new sects shared
- They rejected the authority of the Vedas and the necessity of sacrifice.
- They accepted karma and rebirth but made conduct, not birth or ritual, the way out.
- They opened membership to all varnas and to women, and organised followers into a sangha.
- They preached in the people's language and depended on lay donors rather than royal sacrifice.
हिंदी संकेत: आजीवक संप्रदाय का मूल सिद्धांत नियति है - सब कुछ पहले से तय है, प्रयास से कुछ नहीं बदलता। इसे बौद्ध और जैन दोनों ने अस्वीकार किया।
Exam me kaise aata hai
Expect match-the-following on teacher and doctrine, especially Makkhali Gosala with niyati. Statement-based questions test whether the new sects accepted karma, and whether they used Sanskrit. Application questions ask why merchants supported Buddhism and Jainism.
UPSC / State PSC ke liye
The standard framing is that these movements were a response to material change, not only to ritual excess - iron, surplus, coinage, towns and trade produced a class whose social rank did not match its wealth. Also note that six named teachers show this was a broad intellectual ferment, not two isolated founders.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ Ajivikas believed in free will and effort | ✓ Ajivikas taught niyati, that destiny fixes everything
✗ The Buddha and Mahavira were brahmanas | ✓ Both came from kshatriya clans
✗ The new sects preached in Sanskrit | ✓ They used Pali and Prakrit, the spoken languages
Ek nazar me
- Sixth century BCE saw many new sects in the middle Ganga plain.
- Causes - costly sacrifice, rigid varna, kshatriya resentment, rich merchants, new towns and coins.
- Six heterodox teachers are remembered; Buddha and Mahavira are two of them.
- Makkhali Gosala founded the Ajivikas and taught niyati.
- Ajita Kesakambalin taught materialism, the forerunner of Charvaka.
- Common features - Vedas rejected, karma accepted, conduct over birth, sangha, people's language.