Ajivika
Encyclopedia
Ājīvika was an ancient philosophical and ascetic
movement of the Mahajanapada
period of the Indian subcontinent
.
The Ājīvikas were contemporaries of the early Buddhists
and historical Jains
; the Ājīvika movement may have preceded both of these groups. The Ājīvikas may have been a more loosely-organized group of wandering ascetics (shramana
s or sannyasin
s). Their leader was Makkhali Gosala
.
The Ajivika movement is long extinct, and what information is known about its followers is primarily from historical evidence left behind in Jain and Buddhist sources. According to these sources, Ajivikas believed that the cycle of reincarnation
was determined by a precise and non-personal cosmic principle called niyati "destiny
, fate" and was completely independent of the person's actions. They are believed to have been strict fatalists, who did not believe in karma
or the possibility of free will.
More recent work by scholars suggests that the Ajivika were perhaps misrepresented by Buddhist and Jain sources.
Several rock-cut caves belonging to this sect, built during the times of Mauryan Emperor
Ashoka
(r. 273 BC to 232 BC) have been found at Barabar Caves
, Jehanabad district
, Bihar
.
Some regard Makkhali Gosala
(Pali
; )(c. 484 BCE) as the founder of the Ajivika faith; other sources state that Gosala was a leader of a large Ajivika congregation, but not himself the founder of the movement. Gosala is believed to have been a friend of Mahavira
, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism
. The Jain Bhagavati Sutra depicts Gosala as having been a disciple of Mahavira's for a period of six years, after which the two had a falling out and parted ways. Purana Kassapa
was another leader of the Ajivikas.
The emperor Ashoka
's father, Bindusara
, was a believer of this philosophy, that reached its peak of popularity during Asoka's lifetime, and then declined into obscurity. The Ajivikasa may have continued to exist in India until as late as the 14th Century CE, but the extent to which the tradition survived is unclear. Inscriptions from southern India make reference to the 'Ajivikas' as late as the 13th Century CE, but by this point in history the term Ajivika may have been used to refer to ascetics from other traditions rather than followers of the Ajivika tradition that existed during earlier centuries.
It is interesting that the preceptor of Asoka's mother (or Bindusara's chief queen) Subhadrângî was an Ajivika.
Makkhali Gosala was originally a slave. However, he escaped: "he made off, but his master pursued and overtook him, by the edge of his robe", but he "escaped in a state of nudity." Makkhali Gosala was, together with Mahāvīra, at “a well ... recognized by two female followers of Pārśva
".
Makkhali Gosala reminded of the sesame plant which “had been pulled up, and had temporarily died, but it had been reanimated ... and was once more living, while the seven pods had developed”.
Makkhali Gosala spoke of a company of merchants who found a large anthill, which had four heaps ... arising from its base. On breaking ... the second yielded gold”.
An apparent “Gosāla ... declared that ... the original Gosāla was dead, and that the soul now inhabiting the apparent Gosāla was that of Udāï Kuṇḍiyāyaṇīya, ... taking up its abode in ... the dead Gosāla, which it had reanimated.”
. Ajivika leaders were sometimes depicted as ending their lives voluntarily when they felt that their bodies or minds were beginning to decline — either by fasting to death, or, in the case of Purana Kassapa, by drowning.
(a.k.a. Vishnu Gupt) was a devotee of Vishnu
. Only Shiva and Vishnu however appear to be the gods of the Ajivikas. Bhattotpala, in 950 A.D. identified them with the "Ekandandins" (One-staff men) writes that they are devotees of Narayana (Vishnu), although Shilanka speaking of the Ekandandins in another connection identifies them as Shaivas. Scholar James Hastings identifies the name "Mankhaliputta" or "Mankhali" with the bamboo staff. Scholar Jitendra N. Banerjea compares them to the Pasupatas Shaivas
.
It is believed by scholar Charpentier that the Ajivikas before Makkhali Goshala worshiped Shiva.
Chanakya wrote in his text Chanakya Niti, "Humbly bowing down before the almighty Lord Sri Vishnu, the Lord of the three worlds, I recite maxims of the science of political ethics (niti) selected from the various satras (scriptures)"
Ājīvikas, are said to have instructed men in the scriptures".
"Every phase of a process is always present. ... in a soul which has attained salvation its earthly births are still present. Nothing is destroyed and nothing is produced. ... Not only are all things determined, but their change and development is a cosmic illusion."
"Life (jïva) cannot be cut or split, it is of eight parts".
One such list collected by a Jaina commentator identifies the eight primary collections of texts as being grouped as follows:
An alternative listing substitutes Suvine (dreams) for Divyam, and indicates that all of these collections were used for purposes of fortune telling, an activity in which Ajivika mendicants are described as engaging in several sources.
In addition to those eight scriptures, there were two more entitled as Magga-s. The two Magga-s (‘paths’, Skt. /mārgau/) are said by Abhayadeva to have been those of song (“gīta”) and dance (“nṛtya”).
"The Ājīvika teacher in the Nīlakēci further gives the name of the [11th] scripture as ... “The Nine Rays” ...[which] is said to describe the atomic structure of the universe, and is one of the four cardinal points of the Ājīvika faith".
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
movement of the Mahajanapada
Mahajanapadas
Mahājanapadas , literally "great realms", were ancient Indian kingdoms or countries...
period of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
The Ājīvikas were contemporaries of the early Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and historical Jains
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
; the Ājīvika movement may have preceded both of these groups. The Ājīvikas may have been a more loosely-organized group of wandering ascetics (shramana
Shramana
A shramana is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvikism. Famous śramaṇas include Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
s or sannyasin
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
s). Their leader was Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala was an ascetic teacher of ancient India, often identified as the founder of the Ajivika movement. He was a contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.- Sources :Details about Gosala's life are sparse...
.
The Ajivika movement is long extinct, and what information is known about its followers is primarily from historical evidence left behind in Jain and Buddhist sources. According to these sources, Ajivikas believed that the cycle of reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
was determined by a precise and non-personal cosmic principle called niyati "destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
, fate" and was completely independent of the person's actions. They are believed to have been strict fatalists, who did not believe in karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
or the possibility of free will.
More recent work by scholars suggests that the Ajivika were perhaps misrepresented by Buddhist and Jain sources.
[Johannes Brockhorst's] claim is that, whereas the Jains teach that one can both stop the influx of new karma and rid oneself of old karma through ascetic practice, Gosāla taught that one could only stop the influx of new karma. [...] Ascetic practice can be effective in preventing further karmic influx, which helps to explain the otherwise inexplicable fact that the Ājīvikas did practice asceticism. [...] [T]he popularity of the Ājīvika doctrine in ancient times, such that it could rival that of both Jainism and Buddhism, also make sense if this doctrine was really not so radically different from these traditions as its presentation in Jain and Buddhist sources suggests.
Several rock-cut caves belonging to this sect, built during the times of Mauryan Emperor
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...
Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
(r. 273 BC to 232 BC) have been found at Barabar Caves
Barabar Caves
The Barabar Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, mostly dating from the Mauryan period , and some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India, 24 km north of Gaya....
, Jehanabad district
Jehanabad District
Jehanabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Jehanabad town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Jehanabad district is a part of Magadh Division. This district is 45 k.m nearby of Patna, the capital of Bihar.Jehanabad is located on the...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
History
Very little that is concrete is known about the Ajivikas. Their scriptures and history were not preserved directly — instead, fragments of Ajivika doctrine were preserved in Buddhist and Jain sources, and they are mentioned in several inscriptions from the Mauryan empire. As a result, it is unknown to what degree the available sources reflect the actual beliefs and practices of the Ajivikas. Because most of what is known about them was recorded in the literature of rival groups, it is quite possible that accidental distortions or intentional criticism was introduced into the records. Even the name 'Ajivika' may have only been used by observers from outside the tradition.Some regard Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala was an ascetic teacher of ancient India, often identified as the founder of the Ajivika movement. He was a contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.- Sources :Details about Gosala's life are sparse...
(Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
; )(c. 484 BCE) as the founder of the Ajivika faith; other sources state that Gosala was a leader of a large Ajivika congregation, but not himself the founder of the movement. Gosala is believed to have been a friend of Mahavira
Mahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...
, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. The Jain Bhagavati Sutra depicts Gosala as having been a disciple of Mahavira's for a period of six years, after which the two had a falling out and parted ways. Purana Kassapa
Purana Kassapa
' was an Indian ascetic teacher who lived around the 5th or 4th c. BCE, contemporaneous with Mahavira and the Buddha.Purana taught a theory of "non-action" whereby the body acts independent of the soul, merit or demerit...
was another leader of the Ajivikas.
The emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
's father, Bindusara
Bindusara
Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor after Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two well-known sons, Susima and Ashoka, who were the viceroys of Taxila and Ujjain...
, was a believer of this philosophy, that reached its peak of popularity during Asoka's lifetime, and then declined into obscurity. The Ajivikasa may have continued to exist in India until as late as the 14th Century CE, but the extent to which the tradition survived is unclear. Inscriptions from southern India make reference to the 'Ajivikas' as late as the 13th Century CE, but by this point in history the term Ajivika may have been used to refer to ascetics from other traditions rather than followers of the Ajivika tradition that existed during earlier centuries.
It is interesting that the preceptor of Asoka's mother (or Bindusara's chief queen) Subhadrângî was an Ajivika.
Biography of Makkhali Gosala
The father and mother of Gosāla were named, respectively, Maŋkhali and Bhaddā.While Bhaddā was pregnant, she and her husband Mankhali the mankha came to the village ... of Saravaṇa, where dwelt a wealthy householder Gobahula. Mankhali left his wife and his luggage ... in Gobahula’s cowshed (gosālā) ... . Since he could find no shelter elsewhere the couple continued to live in a corner of the cowshed, and it was there that Bhaddā gave birth her child."
Makkhali Gosala was originally a slave. However, he escaped: "he made off, but his master pursued and overtook him, by the edge of his robe", but he "escaped in a state of nudity." Makkhali Gosala was, together with Mahāvīra, at “a well ... recognized by two female followers of Pārśva
Parshva
Pārśva or Paras was the twenty-third Tirthankara "Ford-Maker" in Jainism . He is the earliest Jain leader generally accepted as a historical figure. Pārśva was a nobleman belonging to the Kshatriya varna....
".
Makkhali Gosala reminded of the sesame plant which “had been pulled up, and had temporarily died, but it had been reanimated ... and was once more living, while the seven pods had developed”.
Makkhali Gosala spoke of a company of merchants who found a large anthill, which had four heaps ... arising from its base. On breaking ... the second yielded gold”.
An apparent “Gosāla ... declared that ... the original Gosāla was dead, and that the soul now inhabiting the apparent Gosāla was that of Udāï Kuṇḍiyāyaṇīya, ... taking up its abode in ... the dead Gosāla, which it had reanimated.”
Beliefs and practices
Along with the history of the Ajivika movement, the practices and beliefs of the Ajivikas are difficult to reconstruct, because they were only preserved in external, often hostile sources. Ajivikas seem to have been exponents of a philosophy of absolute determinism, in which human actions and choices are unable to overcome the forces of fate. Ajivika adherents followed a strict regimen of asceticism, similar in many ways to practices undertaken by the Jains — extreme fasting, indifference to physical discomfort and living exposed to the elements. Makkhala Gosala was often described as having lived without clothing, as are some other senior Ajivika adherents. It is not clear if all Ajivikas lived as naked wanderers, or if this was a practice that was only undertaken by the extremely devout. They were also strongly against the caste system and, much like their Jain and Buddhist counterparts, were mainly non-theisticNontheism
Nontheism is a term that covers a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of — or the rejection of — theism or any belief in a personal god or gods...
. Ajivika leaders were sometimes depicted as ending their lives voluntarily when they felt that their bodies or minds were beginning to decline — either by fasting to death, or, in the case of Purana Kassapa, by drowning.
Ajivikas and Theism
Although most Ajivikas were atheistic there were many important theistic figures as well. For example, ChanakyaChanakya
Chānakya was a teacher to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta , and the first Indian emperor generally considered to be the architect of his rise to power. Traditionally, Chanakya is also identified by the names Kautilya and VishnuGupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise...
(a.k.a. Vishnu Gupt) was a devotee of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. Only Shiva and Vishnu however appear to be the gods of the Ajivikas. Bhattotpala, in 950 A.D. identified them with the "Ekandandins" (One-staff men) writes that they are devotees of Narayana (Vishnu), although Shilanka speaking of the Ekandandins in another connection identifies them as Shaivas. Scholar James Hastings identifies the name "Mankhaliputta" or "Mankhali" with the bamboo staff. Scholar Jitendra N. Banerjea compares them to the Pasupatas Shaivas
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
.
It is believed by scholar Charpentier that the Ajivikas before Makkhali Goshala worshiped Shiva.
Chanakya wrote in his text Chanakya Niti, "Humbly bowing down before the almighty Lord Sri Vishnu, the Lord of the three worlds, I recite maxims of the science of political ethics (niti) selected from the various satras (scriptures)"
Theology peculiar to the Ājīvika-s
The "two divinities, Okkali and Ōkali, are mentioned as being responsible for the diffusion of the text [entitled "The Nine Rays"] among men." "The Tamil text Nīlakēci mentions two devas, Okkali and Ōkali, who according to the mythology of the DravidianDravidian
-Language and culture:*Dravidian languages, a family of languages spoken mainly in South India and North-Eastern Sri Lanka*Proto-Dravidian, a model of the common ancestor of the above languages*Elamo-Dravidian languages, a proposed language family...
Ājīvikas, are said to have instructed men in the scriptures".
Metaphysics
"If all future occurrences are rigidly determined ..., coming events may in some sense be said to exist already. The future exists in the present, and both exist in the past. Time is thus on ultimate analysis illusory"."Every phase of a process is always present. ... in a soul which has attained salvation its earthly births are still present. Nothing is destroyed and nothing is produced. ... Not only are all things determined, but their change and development is a cosmic illusion."
"Life (jïva) cannot be cut or split, it is of eight parts".
Scriptures
The Ajivika are believed to have possessed a collection of scripture, based on references made to such a collection in Jaina sources. Of these scriptures, the only portions possibly surviving are scattered selections of verse in Buddhist and Jain sources that seem to represent quotations from the Ajivika scriptures. The Ajivika scriptures are not known to have ever been committed to writing, and their contents are unknown outside of these fragmentary quotations and a few hints provided by lists of titles recorded in non-Ajivika sources.One such list collected by a Jaina commentator identifies the eight primary collections of texts as being grouped as follows:
- Divyam (of the divineDivinityDivinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
) - Autpātam (of portentPortentPortent may refer to:* Portent , a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future* The Portent, a comic book* USS Portent , an Auk-class minesweeper...
s) - Bhaumam (of the earthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
) - ĀngamAngamAngam the movie is a documentary film made in 2010 on Sri Lankan history and the survival of its traditional martial art Angampora. It was produced and directed by Anjula Rasanga Weerasinghe. The film explores the origins of Sri Lankan civilization, and the vital role Angampora has played in its...
(of the bodyBodyWith regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
) - Svāram (of soundSoundSound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
) - Lākşanam (of characteristicCharacteristicCharacteristic may refer to:In physics and engineering, any characteristic curve that shows the relationship between certain input and output parameters, for example:...
s) - Vyāñjanam (of indicationIndicationIndication can refer to:* A synonym for Sign.* Human interface Highlighting the single object pointed to as a cursor is moved, without any other user action such as clicking, is indication....
s)
An alternative listing substitutes Suvine (dreams) for Divyam, and indicates that all of these collections were used for purposes of fortune telling, an activity in which Ajivika mendicants are described as engaging in several sources.
In addition to those eight scriptures, there were two more entitled as Magga-s. The two Magga-s (‘paths’, Skt. /mārgau/) are said by Abhayadeva to have been those of song (“gīta”) and dance (“nṛtya”).
"The Ājīvika teacher in the Nīlakēci further gives the name of the [11th] scripture as ... “The Nine Rays” ...[which] is said to describe the atomic structure of the universe, and is one of the four cardinal points of the Ājīvika faith".