History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c17.s6.10

c17.s6.10

Vaidyanātha, unlike Utpala, does not identify the Ājīvika with the *ekadaṇḍin*, nor with the naked *Vivāsas*. His use of the word "talkative" (*jalpako*) suggests that he had some personal knowledge of the sect, for no such word is elsewhere to be found applied to the Ājīvikas. Chattering ascetics are certainly referred to in the Buddhist texts,¹ but the Ājīvikas are nowhere accused of being more loquacious than their rivals.