Sramana
/ˈʃrɑːmənə/noun
A wandering ascetic or religious mendicant in ancient India, especially one belonging to Buddhist, Jain, or related non-Vedic traditions.
Did you know?Śramaṇa traditions—including Buddhism and Jainism—developed outside the Vedic sacrificial system and made meditation, renunciation, and liberation central religious paths.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
*śram-
“To exert oneself, labor, or become weary”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
śramá
“Exertion, toil, fatigue, or religious effort”
5th–4th Century BCE
Sanskrit
śramaṇa
“A religious striver or wandering ascetic who undertakes rigorous spiritual discipline”
3rd Century BCE
Pali
samaṇa
“An ascetic or renunciant, especially a Buddhist or other non-Brahmanical holy person”
3rd Century BCE–3rd Century CE
Prakrit
samaṇa
“A mendicant or religious seeker in Buddhist and Jain communities”
19th Century
English
sramana
“A scholarly English borrowing for an Indian ascetic or renunciant”