Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t8.6

v1.c7.s7.t8.6

Around 6^th century BCE, a massive anti-Brahmin movement emerged in ancient India spawning a large number of thinkers who proposed all kinds of brave new ideas. According to relevant records, there were over hundreds of significant thinkers active at the time, with the most influential ones being the renowned “Six Masters”, including Nirgrantha-jñātaputra. Thanks to his painstaking efforts and other early members of Jainism, the sect gradually grew into an influential religion in ancient India with a huge following cementing its position on the Indian philosophical and religious scene as one of the three major non-orthodox schools of thought in the country (other two being Buddhism and the Lakayata school).