Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s9.8

c12.s9.8

Closely allied to the general order of the Śramaṇas and Parivrājakas, there were some communities of religious men which claimed their origin from some well-known teachers contemporaneous with Buddha and followed some distinct religious beliefs. They were the sophists or Tirthikas (vādasilā titthiyā), the Ājivikas and the Nigaṇṭhas (cf. Dhammikasutta, Sutta Nipāta, v. 381). The famous Tirthika teachers in the time of Buddha were Pūraṇa Kassapa, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Ajita Keśa-Kambala, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta, Makkhali Gosāla and Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta. Of the religious orders founded by them only those of the last two teachers had lived up to the Nanda-Maurya period; the followers of the first four teachers had probably merged into the general Śramaṇa order for want of strong leaders. The religious order of Makkhali Gosāla was the Ājivika and that of Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta, the Nigaṇṭha (Nirgrantha).