History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c18.s2.45

c18.s2.45

The Ājīvika hermitage is described as adorned with fragrant flowers,² and thus gives the impression of being a pleasant and comfortable place. Here the teacher rules with great respect and dignity, and expounds the Ājīvika scriptures (araṇam) to visitors. He is "the Great Mind, the great one than whom none is greater, Pūraṇan the Lord, the Most Learned".³ He is careful to stress that his followers are not Jainas, as though the two sects might easily be confused.⁴ From this it might be inferred that the Southern Ājīvikas practised nudity, and that the confusion was thus likey to arise, but Vāmanamuni in his commentary took the phrase to mean that the Ājīvikas, like the Jainas, maintained an anekāntavāda system of epistemology,⁵ and that misunderstanding might thus occur. The Ājīvika monks are described as mā-tavar, or ascetics performing extreme penances. Yet the teacher concludes his speech by urging his visitor not to condemn them because of their addiction to cuvai, which, as we have seen,⁶ may mean sensual pleasure. The chapter on the Ājīvikas in Nilakēci yields no other information about the history and development of the Ājīvika sect in the South.