4 SOCIAL SCIENTIST It was much later that Theravada Buddhism appeared on the scene. It was introduced into Cambodia in the tenth century AD, Burma in the eleventh,^Thailand in the thirteenth and Laos in the fourteenth centuries. In Sri Lanka Buddhism was preached bv Asoka's missionaries, soon to become the official religion of the island. Burma got it before the first century A D. Buddhism together with Hinduism is found in Champa and Java from the fifth century, Thailand from the sixth, Sumatra from the seventh, Cambodia from the tenth, Vietnam (with the Ly dynasty) in the eleventh century and in Laos from the thirteenth century of the Christian era. It was Brahmanism that followed the flag of Hindu colonies and kingdoms. Buddhism, a latecomer, coexisted with Brahmanism as long as the colonies were essentially mercantile in character. Theravada Buddhism was later adopted as official religion probably—for the moment a hypothesis—when feudal regimes were established by appropriation or strict control of the means of production, namely, land and water or both. Socio-political Background In Buddha's time, north India was a patchwork of small kingdoms tracing their origin to the various clannic groups. They were dominated by the religious system of Brahmanism which imposed a class division of the varnas. In the hierarchy, the Brahmins, or the religious agents, constituted the dominant class. The Kshatriyas in the second rung were kings and administrators. Agriculture and trade were reserved for the Vaisyas. At the bottom as a servile class stood the Sudras. Each social category was knit together by strong killship relations which were at the ba&is ofthej<7^\, corresponding to lineages. As the Brahmanic tradition laid down the divine origin of social hierarchy, and kinship relations regulated the internal organization of social groups, allegiance to the varnas became the norm. The weak development of the productive forces induced the rajas to make war for the acquisition of the surplus produced by their neighbours. They were not so much keen on annexing territories as on imposing tributes. The peasants, vulnerable in such a situation, paid the Kshatriyas a part of their surpluses in return for protection. A sizable part of the surplus was also absorbed by the Brahmins who developed an elaborate system of religious practices linked inseparably with animism. All the groups which could afford it were seeking symbolic protection through religious observances, sacrifices and recitation of the mantras. The Sudras, deprived of a disposable surplus, were practically excluded from these religious safeguards. Brahmanism slided into a state of decadence to which Buddhism and Jainism were reactions. Buddha came from the Kshatriya group which, because of the hegemony of the Brahmins, was losing its