History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c14.s4.10

c14.s4.10

Pictorial and sculptural representations of Ājīvikas contribute little to our knowledge of the usual Ājīvika garb. Representations of naked ascetics occur occasionally in Buddhist art, but in most cases there is no evidence that these are Ājīvikas and not members of the Digambara Jaina order. A figure in one of the Ajaṇṭā frescos has been identified by Foucher as Pūraṇa Kassapa at the great miracle contest at Sāvatthi,⁹ and this is completely naked. Certain sculptures of the Gandhāra school, depicting the Buddha’s *parinirvāṇa*, also show a naked ascetic, who seems to be the Ājīvika in the act of informing the *bhikkhu* Mahākassapa of the great event (Plate III)¹; but a similar character in other works of the same school depicting the same subject is dressed in a garb resembling that of the orthodox Hindu ascetic.²