History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c14.s5.4

c14.s5.4

This account seems not to represent a typical member of the Ājīvika order, although it is possible that certain solitary hermits were loosely affiliated to it. The figure here described, however, seems to be that of a forest hermit of the most psychopathic type, and the passage is yet another example of the very loose manner in which the term Ājīvika was used in the Pāli texts. It does indicate, however, how closely the word was connected in the popular mind with extreme asceticism.