Public Administration in Ancient India c5.28

c5.28

It is thus evident that the Brāhmanas and the Kshatriyas were the two most important classes in the early Indian society. The general superiority of the Brāhmanas over the Kshatriyas was admitted to some extent, but the influence of the former class in the State was not quite exclusive.³ Even in the sphere of religion their supremacy was not absolutely undisputed. For we find that in the sixth century B.C., two of the greatest religious reformers of India—Vardhamāna Mahāvīra and Gautama Buddha—belonged to the Kshatriya caste; and throughout the period known as the Buddhist Age, the superiority of the Brāhmanas was challenged by men belonging to the other classes. With the decline of Buddhism, however, the ascendancy of the Brāhmanas became complete. But though in these latter days the Brāhmanas gained an unassailable position as religious and social leaders, they lost the political influence they once possessed as an organised community. Individual Brāhmanas continued to fill high offices in the State, but as a body they never again became a factor of any great importance in the administration of the country.