Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of ancient India during the second half of the first millennium BCE. That was a period of social and religious turmoil, as there was significant discontent with the sacrifices and rituals of Vedic Brahmanism.[note 15] It was challenged by numerous new ascetic religious and philosophical groups and teachings that broke with the Brahmanic tradition and rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmans.[note 16] These groups, whose members were known as <answer>shramanas</answer>, were a continuation of a non-Vedic strand of Indian thought distinct from Indo-Aryan Brahmanism.[note 17] Scholars have reasons to believe that ideas such as samsara, karma (in the sense of the influence of morality on rebirth), and moksha originated in the <answer>shramanas</answer>, and were later adopted by Brahmin orthodoxy.[note 18][note 19][note 20][note 21][note 22][note 23]
What groups broke with Brahmanic tradition?
shramanas