History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c11.s4.14

c11.s4.14

No great value can be attached to the details of this story. The account of Gosāla’s parentage and birth fits too closely to his name and patronymic to allow unqualified credence. His mother, Bhaddā, has a name used in the Jaina texts to designate the mother of many mythological figures,³ which in this context seems devoid of all historical significance. In some respects the story recalls that of the birth of Jesus, as recorded in Saint Luke’s gospel, and should therefore be of some interest to the student of comparative religion and mythology. Historically it is almost valueless.