History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c14.s5.30

c14.s5.30

This is a brilliantly imaginative interpretation, but is by no means consistent with the commentary. Whatever the meaning of the strange phrase in the text, the commentary indicates that the wicked Ājīvika was thought of as performing magical ceremonies. This single reference is not reliably confirmed by other sources, although a significant passage in the *Vāyu Purāṇa* also suggests that the Ājīvikas performed mysterious secret rites.³