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History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c15.s4: Ājīvika Laymen

History and Doctrines of the Ājīvikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c15.s4

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Ājīvika Laymen

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The early Ājīvika community, both religious and lay, was drawn from all sections of the population. Like Buddhism and Jainism, Ājīvikism seems to have made no stipulations about the status of its converts, and apparently did not encourage caste distinctions.

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At the bottom of the scale of castes is Pāṇḍuputta, the son of a wagon-maker.⁵ This trade, by the time of the Buddha, had lost the respect in which it was held in Ṛg-vedic times and had become a despised occupation.⁶ Yet Pāṇḍuputta appears to have been a full member of the order, and well respected.

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⁵ V. supra, pp. 126-27.

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⁶ *CHI*. i, p. 207.

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At the other extreme is the *kulūpaga* Ājīvika, Janasāna, the adviser to the chief queen of King Bindusāra, who, according to the *Mahāvaṃsa* commentary, came of brāhmaṇa stock.⁷

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⁷ V. supra, p. 127, and infra, pp. 146 ff.

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As an example of the numerous Ājīvikas who must have joined the Order from the military class we have a kinsman (ñāti sālohito) of King Bimbisāra, who, even after becoming an Ājīvika monk, appears to have continued his friendly relations with the King.¹ The epic tradition of fatalism, of which the Mahābhārata presents many indications,² suggests that Ājīvikism made a special appeal to the warrior element of the population.

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¹ Vin. iv, p. 74. V. supra, p. 120, and infra, p. 136.

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² V. supra, p. 7; and infra, p. 218.

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The greatest support for Ājīvikism seems to have come from the industrial and mercantile classes. The Vinaya mentions one unnamed mahāmatta who was an adherent of the Ājīvikas,³ but with this and the other exceptions mentioned above all those Ājīvikas referred to in the Buddhist and Jaina texts whose caste affiliations are specified were of the trading classes.

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³ Vin. ii, p. 165. V. infra, p. 136.

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Ājīvika layfolk seem to have been specially numerous at Sāvatthi, but there is evidence that they also existed elsewhere. Among the Sāvatthi Ājīvika lay-adherents were the faithful potter-women Hālāhalā, Gosāla’s host for sixteen years ⁴; Ayampula, the rich and earnest disciple who visited Gosāla by night during his last delirium ⁵; and the wealthy seṭṭhi Migāra who, when he began to favour the Buddha, was besieged in his home by a body of ascetics who are called indiscriminately naggasamaṇa, acelaka, and ājīvika.⁶ We have also a reference to a family of lay Ājīvikas visiting Sāvatthi from a village at some distance from the capital,⁷ from which we may infer that the sect gained converts in the surrounding countryside.

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⁴ V. supra, p. 32, etc.

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⁵ V. supra, pp. 62–63.

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⁶ Dhp. Comm. i, pp. 390 ff. V. supra, p. 97; and infra, p. 138.

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⁷ V. infra, p. 135.

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At Polāsapura the Ājīvika community is said to have had its own meeting place at the time of Gosāla’s visit,⁸ so it may be inferred that the town was an early centre of the organized Ājīvika sect. The only local Ājīvika whose name is mentioned is Saddālaputta, who, like Hālāhalā, was a potter. He is described as being very wealthy, the owner of five hundred potters’ workshops as well as a krore of hoarded gold and another krore lent out at interest.⁹ Although these figures are no doubt exaggerated, and Saddālaputta himself may be a fictitious character, his story is significant both for the study of the economics of Ancient India and for that of the Ājīvikas.

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⁸ V. supra, p. 115.

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⁹ Uv. Das. vii, 180 ff.

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Polāsapura, the town in which he lived, is of doubtful location. The only evidence of its whereabouts is given by the statement that its king was Jiyasattu, but this king's name occurs so frequently in the Jaina scriptures, and in so many and varied contexts, that it is impossible to attach it to any historical figure.¹

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¹ Hoernle (*Uv. Das.* vol. ii, p. 3, n. 4) suggested that Jiyasattu was Mahāvīra's maternal uncle Ceḍaga, the chieftain of Vesālī. This view is based on the statement of the text that Jiyasattu was king of Vāṇiyagāma, believed by Hoernle to be Vesālī. (*Uv. Das.* i, 3.) But the same text states that he was also king of Campā, Bāṇārasī, Ālabhiyā, Kampillapura, and Sāvatthī, and Ceḍaga can hardly have controlled these towns, most of which were in Kosala. It is more probable that the name was a title, held by a local ruler.

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Although the organized Ājīvika sect seems to have been strongest in Kosala, communities of Ājīvika laymen must have existed beyond the bounds of that kingdom at a very early period. The *Aṅguttara* mentions the conversion by the *bhikkhu* Ānanda of "a certain disciple of the Ājīvikas, a householder",² at Kosambi, but no information of interest is given about this single witness to the presence of Ājīvikism in the kingdom of Vamsa. In Magadha we have evidence of the presence of early Ājīvikas of the pre-Makkhali loosely organized class, such as Upaka³; Pāṇḍuputta⁴ is a further example of a Magadhan Ājīvika, whose relations with Makkhali Gosāla's order are uncertain. Barua⁵ would include among wealthy Ājīvika supporters one Kuṇḍakoliya of Kampilla, a *seṭṭhi* even wealthier than Saddālaputta.⁶ But this would appear to be an error, for throughout the relevant passage of the *Uvāsaga Dasāo* Kuṇḍakoliya is referred to as a "servant of the *Samaṇa*" (i.e. of Mahāvīra), and actually succeeds in converting the Ājīvika *deva* who tries to shake his faith in his master.

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² *Aṅg.* i, p. 217.

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³ V. supra, pp. 94–95.

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⁴ V. supra, pp. 126–27.

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⁵ *JDL.* ii, p. 38.

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⁶ *Uv. Das.* vi, 163 ff.

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The above evidence indicates that at an early period communities of Ājīvika laymen were to be found in all the great cities of the Ganges basin. While they included members of all classes the sect was especially patronized by the rising mercantile groups. That two potters, Hālāhalā and Saddālaputta should be included among the few names which are mentioned, that Gosāla should have used a potter's workshop at his headquarters, and that pots were employed in Ājīvika penances,¹ together suggest that the sect was in some way specially connected with the potter caste, and made a special appeal to its members.

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¹ V. supra, pp. 111-12.

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There are few indications of the social status of Ājīvika laymen in later centuries. One intimation is, however, contained in the Tamil classic *Cilappatikāram*. Here the father of the heroine Kaṇṇaki, who, on her death, gave away all his wealth and entered the Ājīvika order,² is described as a *mānāykan*.³ This word Dikshitar translates as "sea-captain",⁴ but his translation may be questioned, and the word may here have the more usual meaning of "general". In either case the reference shows that the Dravidian Ājīvikas received the support of men of substance. The imposition of the Ājīvika tax in South India⁵ indicates a certain degree of affluence among those subject to it.

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² *Cilappatikāram* ed. Aiyar xxvii, 84-102.

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³ Ibid., i, 23.

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⁴ " *Śilappadikāram*," p. 88.

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⁵ V. infra, p. 195.

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The social status of the remnants of the Northern Ājīvika community seems to have fallen at an early date. By the time of the final composition of the *Vāyu Purāṇa*, which may perhaps be related to the Gupta period,⁶ the Ājīvikas seem to have possessed the humble status of *śūdras*, or even of outcastes. They are described in the *Purāṇa* as being of mixed *varṇa*, a class of workmen, worshipping *piśācas*; but they still seem to be comparatively wealthy, and employ much ill-gotten wealth on their religious ceremonies.⁷

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⁶ Patil, *Cultural History from the Vāyu Purāṇa*, p. 16.

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⁷ *Vāyu*, 69, 285-6. V. infra, pp. 162 ff.

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