History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c21.s1.15

c21.s1.15

These ten scriptures are said to have been plagiarized from the *Puvvas*. By the *Puvvas* it seems that the author of the *Bhagavatī* meant the Jaina *Pūrvas*, the earliest scriptures of the sect, which are now lost. The accusation of plagiarism, whether correct or not, is a further indication of the close connection of Ājīvikism and Jainism in origin. Hoernle makes this point strongly in his article on the Ājīvikas.⁷ Barua, on the other hand, interprets the word *puvva* in the text not in the specialized Jaina sense, but merely as “past traditions”.⁸ The commentator Abhayadeva is himself vague, and defines the *puvvas* as “certain scriptures called *Pūrvas*”.⁹ Barua’s view is perhaps strengthened by the fact that the eightfold *Mahānimitta* of the Ājīvikas bears no resemblance to the titles of the fourteen lost *Pūrvas* of the Jaina tradition.¹ The whole passage defies definitive interpretation. It indicates, however, that the Ājīvikas had scriptures at an early period, that the latter included considerable sections on divination, and that they may have had something in common with the earliest scriptures of the Jainas.