History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c11.s2.15

c11.s2.15

It is not easy to accept Barua’s theory without question. If the list is actually that of a succession of ascetic teachers, leaders of the same order, it is surprising that each one makes his headquarters in a different town. The progressive diminution by one year of the period of each reanimation also gives strong ground for suspicion that the scheme is artificial. Even if we admit that the list may represent a succession of seven teachers (or eight, if Udāī, the originator of the process, be included), little reliance may be placed on the total of 117 years between the commencement of the ministry of Eṇejjaga and that of Gosāla.