History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c24.s3.1

c24.s3.1

Nīlakēci’s criticism of Ājīvika doctrines contains a verse giving surprising information about the nature of the soul (uyir, Skt. jīva). As we have seen, the material atoms were thought of as being too minute to be visible to mortal eyes.¹ Jīva, however, was the colour of a pālai fruit, and reached to the height of 500 yojanas.² We are nowhere told how the Ājīvikas justified this bizarre theory, which is quickly and easily disposed of by Nilakeci as being inconsistent with reason and common sense. The strange doctrine is not found in other Tamil sources, and we would be tempted to dismiss it as a fantastic invention of the Ājīvikas’ opponents, if it were not for the fact that the identical theory is to be found in a statement of heretical doctrine in the Pāli scriptures.