Shramana
/ˈʃrɑː.mə.nə/noun
A renunciant or ascetic practitioner in ancient Indian religious traditions, especially Buddhism, Jainism, and related movements.
Did you know?The Buddha was historically described as a śramaṇa, placing early Buddhism within a wider movement of wandering ascetics who challenged Vedic religious authority.
Etymological Timeline
Late Vedic period
Sanskrit
śramaṇa
“A religious practitioner or ascetic who undertakes strenuous spiritual discipline”
Ancient India
Sanskrit
śramá
“Labor, exertion, or arduous effort; the root associated with disciplined striving”
3rd Century BCE
Pali
samaṇa
“A wandering renunciant or ascetic, including Buddhist and Jain practitioners”
Ancient India
Middle Indo-Aryan
samaṇa
“A mendicant religious seeker who has left household life”
Early Buddhist transmission
Chinese
沙門 (shāmén)
“A Buddhist monastic or ascetic, borrowed through Indic Buddhist terminology”
19th Century
English
shramana
“An ascetic or renunciant of ancient Indian religious traditions”
Modern English
English
shramanic
“Relating to the śramaṇa traditions, especially Buddhism, Jainism, and Jain-derived ascetic movements”