History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c15.s5.25

c15.s5.25

With each sect attempting to win members from the others animosity must inevitably have arisen. The violence of the competition for supporters is evident from the story of Migāra, the rich banker of Sāvatthi of whom we have heard before in more than one context.¹ Migāra first appears on the scene as an earnest devotee of the naked ascetics, but his loss of faith begins when his newly married daughter-in-law, the Buddhist laywoman Visākhā, refuses to pay reverence to the 500 mendicants whom he entertains, declaring that they are devoid of modesty and shame, and unworthy of respect. When Migāra agrees to entertain the Buddhist *saṅgha* the Ājīvikas besiege his home, in a frantic attempt to prevent their rivals from obtaining so wealthy and influential a convert.