History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s4.9

c12.s4.9

The incident may have been inserted by the author of the *Bhagavatī Sūtra* with satirical intention. It seems certain that the later Ājīvikas held surprising theories about the *jīva*, for instance that it was of eight parts and five hundred *yojanas* in size.⁴ The question of Ayampula is possibly the ludicrous counterpart of a serious question put to Gosāla concerning the size of the soul, and Gosāla’s reply may be similarly ludicrous in intention.