The Mauryan Polity c5.s2.t8.8

c5.s2.t8.8

There is little or no trace of Buddhism or Jainism. There is indeed a mention of heretical sects especially monastic. Though Kauṭalya was not against *sannyāsa* still he did not allow people to indiscriminately don the robes of a Sannyāsin³ on one day and give them up on the morrow if it did not suit their purpose. Absence of direct reference to Buddhism or Jainism leaves one with the impression that these religious movements had not gained sufficient currency or enough influence in the country. These and other details which are scattered all through the pages of the work lead us on to the conclusive observation that the work belongs to an earlier epoch of Hinduism when the Vedic religion held firm sway in the minds of the people. The religious data furnished may possibly go to support an early date for the composition of the work probably not later than 300 B.C.