Sorry to be so slow in responding to your query Shibori! I saw it and then forgot all about it.

When I was researching for the Bihar hood, I ran onto the writings of Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador to Pataliputra during the Mauryan era. He mentioned a number of occupations: philosophers, soldiers, councilors, traders, artisans, peasants, and shepherds. Any period of Indian history would have also included monks.

Hope this helps a little.