ABSTRACT
Buddhism and Jainism were both products of similar social, political, and spiritual milieus, particularly on the frontiers of the Aryanized areas, representing an anti-Brahmanical movement. Both religions were born and prospered in the less Aryanized area of the time, in Magadha, modern-day Bihar. Buddhism was a revolt against the formalized, mechanical, sacrificial Brahmanism. It sought a deeper solution to the problems of the inner life. Buddha accepted the concept of karma, according to which each event brought its own consequences and placed value on the moral improvement of an individual. Karma is autonomous and functions independently as a law. A major boost to Buddhism and its spread was provided by the Mauryan emperor Asoka. The founder of Jainism was Mahavira Vardhamana, who was a senior contemporary of the Buddha, living in the same general region of India and preaching a faith that, like Buddhism, signified a protest against the Brahman-dominated Vedic faith.
