________________
[ 64 ]
resided in the north-east part of the country which is now known as Bihar and which is the birthplace of Jainism and Buddhism. In fact he has ably discussed the relation of the non-Vedic cultures with that of Vedic ones and has shown how some of the non-Vedic cults like Yoga and others were assimilated in Vedic cult.
The findings of D. R. Bhandarkar strengthen the older hypothesis of Winternitz pertaining to the independent origin of the Sramana sects. Winternitz has discussed the problem in some detail in his lectures on · Ascetic Literature in Ancient India'1. He has paid tributes to the scholars like Rhys David, E, Lenmann and Richard Garbe who combated the older view of Vedic origin of the Sramana sects. His chief grounds are the constant occurrence of the term Sramana-Brahmana in Buddhist Pitakas and in Asoka's inscriptions; legends, poetic maxims and parables found in the Mahabharata as well as in Puranas. He closely examines the Pita-Putra Samvada, TuladharaJajali Samvada. Madhubindu parable and such other Samvadas and compares them with their different versions found in Jaina Agamas and Buddhist Jatakas. Thus examining thoroughly
1. "Some Problems of Indian Literaturo", p. 21, Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com
