History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c18.s2.66

c18.s2.66

These passages show that the Ājīvika, although by one commentator believed to be a sort of Buddhist, was *persona grata* to the Digambara Jaina. He is promised a very high place in the Jaina heavens, rising far above the orthodox *caraka*, *ekadaṇḍin*, and *tridaṇḍin*. This surely indicates that the Jaina theologians recognized him as akin to themselves, and paid him qualified respect. It is evident from these quotations and from the *Civañāṇa-cittiyār*, that some Ājīvikas were being absorbed into Jainism during the Middle Ages. As we shall show, other Ājīvikas developed theistic tendencies, and may have found a place in the growing devotional Vaiṣṇavism of the time.