An Indian religion that arose against Brahmanism and laid stress on right actions and good deeds instead of sacrifices and prayers.

Followers of Jainism. Jainism is a religious system of India that arose in the sixth century B.C. in protest against the ritualism of Hinduism and the authority of the Vedas. Jains are rigidly ascetic, believing in a strict control of wrong thought and action as a means of escaping from the transmigration of the soul (rebirth) that results from one's past actions (karma).