History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c15.s4.17

c15.s4.17

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.