Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c7.110

v1.c7.110

Gosāla’s theory¹² of the divisions of the universe into fourteen hundred thousand principle states of birth—(*pamukhayoniya*) and into various methods of regeneration—viz., seven kinds of animate (*saññigabbhā*) production, *i.e.* by means of separate sexes; seven of inanimate (*asaññigabbhā*), such as rice, barley, etc.; seven of production by grafting (*nigaṇṭhigabbhā*), propagating by joints, such as sugar cane, etc.—seems to show that the Ājīvakas believed in infinite gradations of existence, in the infinity of time, and also in the recurrent cycles of existence. Each individual has external existence, if not individually, at least in type. In the world as a whole everything comes about by necessity. Fate (*niyati*) regulates everything, all things being unalterably fixed. Just as a ball of string when cast forth spreads out just as far as, and no farther than it can unwind, so every being lives, acts, enjoys and ultimately ends, in the manner in which it is destined (*sandhavitvā, saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karissanti*). The peculiar nature (*bhāva*)¹³ of each being depends on the class or species or type to which it belongs.