Buddhism, Jainism & Folk-Tribal Roots

NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond | Chapter 7: India's Cultural Roots

Buddhism — The Path of the Enlightened One

While the Vedic tradition continued to grow, other schools of thought emerged that did not accept the authority of the Vedas and developed their own systems. One of the most influential was Buddhism^?.

Around two-and-a-half millennia ago, a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini (in present-day Nepal). He grew up in a sheltered palace life. At the age of 29, he ventured outside and for the first time encountered an old man, a sick person, and a dead body. He also saw an ascetic^? who appeared calm and at peace.

Deeply moved, Siddhartha renounced his royal life and set out on a quest to understand the root cause of suffering. After years of intense meditation under a pipal tree at Bodh Gaya (in present-day Bihar), he attained enlightenment^?. He realised that ignorance (avidya) and attachment are the two chief sources of human suffering, and he conceived a method to overcome them.

He then became known as the Buddha — meaning the "enlightened" or "awakened" one.

The Buddha emphasised ahimsa^? (non-hurting or non-violence) and sincere inner discipline. He founded the Sangha — a community of monks (bhikshus) and later nuns (bhikshunis) — who dedicated themselves to practising and spreading his teachings. His influence on India and all of Asia was enormous and continues to this day.

Jainism — The Path of the Conqueror

Jainism became widespread around the same time as Buddhism, though its roots are believed to be much more ancient. Prince Vardhamana was born into a royal family near the city of Vaishali in present-day Bihar, in the early 6th century BCE. At 30, he left home in search of spiritual knowledge. After 12 years of rigorous ascetic discipline, he achieved supreme wisdom and became known as Mahavira — the "great hero".

Jain teachings centre on three key principles:

Jainism also stresses the interconnectedness of all creatures. All living things support each other and cannot survive independently. Modern scientists studying ecosystems have repeatedly confirmed this truth.

Stories That Teach Values

Monks and nuns from both Buddhist and Jain traditions travelled far and wide across the land to spread their teachings. Some established monasteries; others led simple lives in rock-cut caves. Archaeological discoveries have revealed many traces of these ancient communities — sometimes even the names of monks carved into the stone walls of the caves they inhabited.

Other Schools & Shared Ideas

There were yet other schools of thought at this time. The Charvaka (or Lokayata) school, for example, believed that only the material world exists, with no life after death. This school did not gain widespread popularity and eventually faded. Its existence, however, demonstrates the remarkable diversity of intellectual and spiritual thought in ancient India — people were free to follow the system that suited them best.

Although the Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain schools had significant differences, they also shared many concepts: dharma, karma, rebirth, the search for an end to suffering and ignorance, and many important human values. These shared ideas form the common "trunk" of India's great cultural tree.

Folk and Tribal Roots

Besides the well-documented schools of thought, India possesses rich oral traditions^? — teachings and practices transmitted through everyday life without written texts. Among these are numerous folk and tribal traditions.

According to the 2011 Census, India had 705 officially recognised tribes across most states, with a total tribal population of about 104 million — more than the combined populations of Australia and the United Kingdom.

There has been a continuous exchange between folk and tribal traditions and mainstream schools of thought such as Hinduism. Deities, concepts, legends, and rituals have been freely shared in both directions. For instance, Jagannath, worshipped at Puri in Odisha, is traditionally said to have originally been a tribal deity. Similarly, various forms of the Mother Goddess worshipped across India have tribal origins.

Some tribes, in turn, adopted Hindu deities long ago and developed their own versions of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. This has been well documented from India's northeastern states all the way to Tamil Nadu.

Why This Interaction Was Natural

Folk, tribal, and Hindu belief systems share many similar ideas. In all three, elements of nature — mountains, rivers, trees, plants, animals, and certain stones — are regarded as sacred, because a consciousness^? is seen as being present behind all of them. Tribes generally worship deities associated with these natural elements.

For the Toda tribals of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, for example, over thirty mountain peaks are considered residences of gods or goddesses — so sacred that the Todas avoid even pointing at them with a finger. Several tribes of Arunachal Pradesh worship Donyipolo, a combined form of the Sun and Moon who became a supreme deity. The Munda and Santhal tribals of eastern India worship Singbonga, a supreme creator god.

The result of this millennia-long interaction has been mutual enrichment. Folk and tribal beliefs and practices are therefore among India's deepest cultural roots.