Ambedkar saw the rise of Buddhism as revolution against Brahmin economic interests.

Evidence

The Mauryan empire lasted from 322 BCE to 185 BCE and reached its zenith under Ashoka, who, after securing the empire and extending its borders, embraced Buddhism and spread it through the territories under his control. He even sent ambassadors across Asia to spread the faith. Ambedkar (BAWS 3, 268) considered this Buddhist phase a ‘revolution’ in ancient India, and termed the re-emergence of Brahminism under the Brahmin king Pushyamitra Sunga (185–149 BCE) the ‘counter-revolution’: “The Brahmins had not only lost state patronage but they lost their occupation which mainly consisted of performing sacrifices for a fee which oftentimes was very substantial and which constituted their chief source of living. The Brahmins therefore lived as the suppressed and Depressed Classes for nearly 140 years during which the Maurya Empire lasted. A rebellion against the Buddhist state was the only way of escape left to the suffering Brahmins and there is special reason why Pushyamitra should raise the banner of revolt against the rule of the Mauryas.” — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1129

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the chapter’s theme of caste annihilation and to the broader Buddhist recovery project central to Ambedkar’s later work.
• DEEPTHINKING: Offers a materialist-economics account of religious change: Brahmins’ revolt because they lost income, not belief — a paradigm-shifting way to read the rise of caste orthodoxy.