History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c22.10

c22.10

This absolute determinism did not preclude a belief in *karma*, but for Makkhali Gosāla the doctrine had lost its moral force. *Karma* was unaffected by virtuous conduct, by vows, by penances, or by chastity, but it was not denied.² The path of transmigration was rigidly laid out, and every soul was fated to run the same course through a period of 8,400,000 *mahākalpas*. This figure is corroborated by independent testimony,³ and is a measure of the gigantic and weary universe of the Ājīvika cosmologists.