History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c18.s2.56

c18.s2.56

Aruṇandi says little about the customs of the Ājīvikas. They practise severe penances, and pull the hairs from their heads. Their doctrine is one of atomism; *Niyati* the principle of determinism, which looms so large in the Pāli accounts of Makkhali Gosāla’s system, is scarcely mentioned; and something like the usual doctrine of *karma* is maintained. Apparently Aruṇandi had met Ājīvikas who had moved far in the direction of Jainism, without completely losing their identity.