[Buddha-l] Shramanas

[Joy Vriens]

Hi all,

There seem to be different versions about the origin of the Shramika 
movements. For some they seem to have developped from the time when 
Vedism became Brahmanism, for others (specialists on Jainism) they were 
pre-Vedic and existed as distinct religious cultural traditions in the 
Vedic period. Could anyone point me to some recent, or less recent, 
material on the subject? Any opinions are welcome too.

Thank you in advance,

Joy Vriens