History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c14.s1.41

c14.s1.41

Hoernle, in his discussion of the origin of the Ājīvikas, pins his faith on the derivation of the name Makkhali. “It describes Gosāla as having originally belonged to the Maṅkhali or Maskarin class of religious mendicants . . . The Maskarin, as a rule, led a solitary life and the adoption of this manner of life was open to very grave abuses. Hence some men of commanding personality conceived the task of regulating the tendency (to abuses) . . . by organizing the mendicants into communities governed by strict rules of conduct.” ¹