Wednesday, November 25, 2009

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVE­MENTS

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVE­MENTS

The rise and growth of the new religions in the sixth century Be brought some important transformation in the society of the day. These changes may be summarised as follows:

(i) The period witnessed the popularisation of the idea of social equality. New religions accepted the entry of different castes in their religious order. It undermined the hitherto dominant position of brahmins. Equally significant was the equal status given to women.
(ii) Religious movements encouraged the trading community by sanctioning sea voyages, which were con. demned by brahmanical texts. Unlike Brahmanism, the new religious ideas did not assign an inferior position to traders. This provided a great morale boost up to trading commu­nity. Further, the new religions laid emphasis on karma for future .life. This indirectly favoured the activities of the trading community.
(iii) New religions paved the way for the development of vernacular literature. Prakrit, Pali and Ardha Magadhi were the languages used by religious philosophers in spreading their ideas. Religious books were written in these languages. The Jains, for the first time, gave a literary shape to Ardha-Magadhi, a mixed dialect, by using the dialect as the medium of their writings.

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