History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c11.s2.18

c11.s2.18

These two marked inconsistencies in the list point in favour of its reliability. The names are probably those of a succession of teachers from whom Gosāla obtained some elements of his doctrine. Less reliance can be placed on the names of the *caityas* and cities, which change with an automatic regularity and never repeat themselves. The periods given for the successive ministeries of the seven teachers seem certainly false, with the exception of the sixteen years attributed to Gosāla. This may represent an accurate tradition, on the basis of which the ministeries of his six predecessors were arrived at by the mechanical addition of one year each.