History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c25.s1.2

c25.s1.2

Out of the philosophical ferment of the sixth century B.C. at least three unorthodox sects developed in the same region, all seeking more satisfying explanations of the cosmic mystery than those of sacrificial brāhmaṇism and the Upaniṣadic gnosis. These sects were built around the doctrines of Buddha, Mahāvīra, and Gosāla, about each of whom a great body of legend accumulated. From this unreliable material, it would seem that Gosāla was at one time closely associated with Mahāvīra, the Jaina tīrthaṅkara, but that later their partnership was broken. Closely allied to Gosāla were Pūraṇa Kassapa the antinomian, and probably Pakudha Kaccāyana the atomist, whose doctrines were adopted by the later Ājīvikas. Gosāla’s fatalism inspired the new sect, which developed around groups of naked wanderers, devoted to asceticism, but accused by their opponents of secret licentiousness. A vigorous lay community supported the Ājīvika sect, which held its own until the Mauryan period, when it appears to have reached its zenith and to have received the patronage of Aśoka and of his successor Daśaratha. After this, however, the Ājīvika community in Northern India dwindled rapidly, and soon became insignificant.