History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c14.s4.21

c14.s4.21

If our synchronisms are correct,⁵ and if we can accept the indications given by the stories of Upaka and Jambuka,⁶ it would seem that neither Mahāvīra nor Gosāla was the originator of the cult of nudity, which must have existed before either reformer commenced his ministry. If we accept the existence of the clothed proto-Jainas we can only assume with Hoernle that Mahāvīra introduced his reform in their dress under the influence of Gosāla and the proto-Ājīvikas, adopting the latter’s views on the necessity of nakedness for salvation, but making slight concessions to public opinion and human frailty. Gosāla, in this respect more extreme than his former colleague, seems to have insisted on the maintenance of total nudity.