History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c24.s3.9

c24.s3.9

This passage contains reminiscences of the fatalism of Makkhali Gosāla, the antinomianism of Pūraṇa, and the positivism of Ajita; it also contains a reference to the seven-element theory elsewhere ascribed to Pakudha. It is impossible to slay another being, because the sword-cut passes between the interstices of the seven (scil. elements), which are thus literally atomic in structure. Life (jīva) cannot be cut or split, it is of eight parts, or octagonal (aṭṭhaṃso), circular, and 500 yojanas in extent.¹ Thus we find the enormous size of the soul according to the Tamil text confirmed by an independent source from a different sectarian tradition. Since the doctrine is not mentioned in other parts of the Pāli canon, and only occurs in one of the three chief Tamil sources, we may infer that it was only held by a small sub-sect of the community. If it had been widely held this fantastic theory would surely have attracted more attention than it actually did.