Kṣatriya dominance in Buddhism and Jainism

The concept of Cakravartin, the wheel turning universal monarch, is found in both Āstika sects (the religious sects which accepts the supreme authority of the Veda-s) and also in  the Nāstika sects (the religious sects which rejects the Veda-s) like Buddhism and Jainism.
According to the early Buddhist texts of the Pali cannon, a man with all  32 noble marks of a great man called the Maha-puruṣa lakṣaṇa is destined either to become an  ideal Cakravartin or an enlightened ascetic Buddha. This is recorded in a Buddhist text named Lakkhaṇa sutta. As the Cakravartin, he will have Brāhmaṇa-s as his followers, while as ascetic Buddha, he will have monks as his followers. In another Buddhist text named Mahā-sudassana sutta, the concept of Cakravartin is explained in detail. It is worth noting that only a properly anointed and powerful king from the Kṣatriya or the ruling and warrior class can become a Cakravartin. In this sutta, a divine wheel will appear in front of a properly anointed Kṣatriya and it will then go rolling to many other kingdoms in all directions. Wherever the wheel goes, the king follows it and by reaching the other kingdoms, the king will be welcomed as the supreme sovereign of those kingdoms. This is very similar to the Vedic ritual named Ashvamedha, where a horse is let out to wander in neighboring kingdoms and if it was attacked, the king would have battle with that neighboring kingdom and try to conquer it.

In a Buddhist text named Mahā-parinibbāṇa sutta, it is recorded that the Buddha advised his disciples to treat his body like that of a Kṣatriya Cakravartin after he has passed away. When the Buddha passed away, the funeral relics which contained ashes of the Buddha was distributed to various Kṣatriya clans of northern India. These Kṣatriya clans claimed right to own the relics of the Buddha by stating that the Buddha was a Kṣatriya and they were also Kṣatriya-s.

It is obviously clear that the Kṣatriya-s have an important role to play in the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha even claimed that in whatever way one compares, the Kṣatriya-s are superior to Brāhmaṇa or the priestly class in  a Buddhist text named  Ambattha sutta.

In Jainism too, the Kṣatriya-s have a valuable role. All of the Jain Tīrthaṅkara-s or enlightened ones (Jain version of Buddha-s) took birth only into the Kṣatriya families. It is stated in a Jain text named Kalpasūtra that the last Jain Tīrthaṅkara Mahavira was first born into the womb of a Brāhmaṇa woman.  But then, the Gods transplanted the embryo from the Brāhmaṇa woman and placed it inside the womb of a Kṣatriya woman by stating that the  Tīrthaṅkara-s should only take birth into superior families like that of Kṣatriya-s and not to the Brāhmaṇa families. The text places the Brāhmaṇa-s with the people of lower ranks. The same text also mentions about Cakravartin concept. Like the Buddhist version, the Jain version also equates the ideal Chakravatin monarch with the enlightened ascetic Tīrthaṅkara . However, the Jain version does not emphasize on the noble marks of a great man like the Buddhist version. Instead, the Jain version states that the mother of Cakravartin or Tīrthaṅkara would see fourteen auspicious dreams before becoming pregnant with  a Cakravartin or Tīrthaṅkara in her womb.

So there existed the doctrine of  two paths in Buddhism and Jainism. It is important to note that in both Buddhist and Jain traditions, it is stated that the noble marks and dreams were read by learned Vedic Brāhmaṇa-s.

So in a nutshell, the Nāstika sects like Buddhism and Jainism should be viewed as  Kṣatriya revisions questioning the Brāhmaṇa authority of its times.  The Kṣatriya-s obviously patronized the Vedic Brāhmaṇa-s and were the guardians of Vedic culture. For this reason both Buddhism and Jainism  did not move far away from the core Vedic culture. But they did reject the authority of Veda-s and Vedic rituals.