(Davies, 1949: 30; OHI, 1981: 186). Hinduism was a full-scale social complex,
in which Brahmans functioned not only as ritualists but also as upholders of
a system of kinship and material stratification organized around caste.
The extent of state interference within Buddhism had important conse-
quences for intellectual creativity. The state rarely became involved in disputes
between sects within Indian Buddhism. In contrast is the pattern in states where
Buddhism was especially closely connected with the royal house, notably Sri
Lanka and Southeast Asia (Gombrich, 1988: 138–145, 158–166; Zürcher,
1962; Kalupahana, 1992: 206–208). The closer the identification of Buddhism
with the state, the more closely sectarian fortunes within Buddhism were tied
to politics; this in turn restricted the playing field on which intellectual activity
took place. Although there were flourishing centers of studies in Malaya and
great temple complexes at the Burmese capital, state enforcement of orthodoxy
kept philosophy in these countries largely traditionalist and uncreative. We see
the same pattern at the very end of Buddhist patronage in India. The Pala kings
of Bengal not only founded a new set of monastic universities but also kept
them under close royal control; all posts in an elaborate hierarchy of teachers
and administrators were held on commission, and all degrees were awarded
by the king (Dutt, 1962: 360–361). Intellectual creativity did not flourish under
this tight control. This situation is comparable to the stagnation in Confucian
philosophy after it became adopted by the Han bureaucracy, and again during
the enforcement of state orthodoxy during the Ming; by contrast, the creative
period of Confucianism during the Sung occurred when both religious ortho-
doxy and the state ideological apparatus were in flux. In India the greatest
intellectual creativity in Buddhism took place when states eclectically patron-
ized not just Buddhism but non-Buddhist religions as well, leaving a breathing
space in which Buddhist factions could take maximal advantage of their
organizational base for intellectual life.
jaina asceticism
The early spread of the Jainas is parallel to that of the Buddhists. Beginning
in Magadha, their shrines reached Andhra in the southeast and Mathura in
the upper Ganges in the post-Maurya period, and continued under the Guptas
(Craven, 1975; Coomaraswamy, [1927] 1965; Dutt, 1962; Zimmer, 1951:
181–279; OHI, 1981: 98–102, 137–138). The Jainas had close royal ties
during the early buildup of imperial power. Thereafter Jaina patronage was
largely confined to the regional kings and coastal merchants of the west and
south, leaving Buddhism in exclusive possession as the ascetic-monastic relig-
ion in the Ganges heartland and the north.
Jainism’s strict practices confined its lay followers to urban pursuits; over
time, it found a distinctive niche by shaping its doctrines so that urban mer-
External and Internal Politics: India • 187