Comprehensive History Of Jainism

SR No.: 022803
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Aseem Kumar Chatterjee
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 360
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 28 MB

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APPENDIX A
The Pāli texts repeatedly refer to the Ājīvikas, but never represent Gośāla as the founder of the sect. Several teachers like Nanda Vaccha, Kisa Sankicca, and Panduputta are mentioned in the Pāli canon and it appears that at least the first two, namely Nanda Vaccha, and Kisa Sankicca, were looked upon as important personalities in the days of the Buddha. Pūraņa Kassapa, who was one of the six great rivals of the Buddha, had great deference for these two teachers and also Gośāla,' as he includes them in the sixth or the purest type (parana-sukhābhijātas) of men. Elsewhere Buddha' declares that although the Ajīvikas had existed for a long time," they only produced three distinguished teachers, Nanda Vaccha, Kisa Sankicca, and Mokkhali Gośāla. This is definite testimony that Ajīvikism is older than Buddhism and Gośāla was only one of the distinguished teachers' of this religious sect.
The Bhagavatīsūtra, which is universally regarded as one of the oldest Jaina canonical texts, also directly confirm the evidence of the Pāli canon regarding the antiquity of the Ajīvika religion. When challenged by Mahāvīra in Srāvasti he decalres that he is actually the eighth Ajīvika teacher and the first seven were the following: Udāi Kundiyāyaṇa, Eņejja, Mallarāma, Mandiya, Roha, Bhāradvāja, and lastly Ajjuna Goyamaputta." Basham, who has made a special study of the Ajīvika religion, remarksls in this connection that the immediate predecessor of Gośāla, Ajjuna Goyamaputta, is distinguished by a gotra name or patronymic as Udāi Kundiyāyaṇa, in whose body the migrant soul of Gośāla was originally born. He further notes that other five names have not been given any patronymics. From this he concludes that the first and the seventh were 'real' persons, and not figures of the imagination. This is indeed very strange logic! There is really no need for the Jaina writer of the Bhagavatī to give the gotra names of all the predecessors of Gośāla in a passage that was apparently written in haste and with the avowed intention of discrediting the Ajīvika religion. The list of the seven predecessors of Gośāla should either be accepted in entirety or be summarily dismissed. Since the list occurs in a work written by staunch enemies of the ika religion, we have to accept it as genuine. Besides, the Jaina writer has also given, as noted by B.M. Barua," the geographical centres of activities of all the seven predecessors of Gośāla, including the period of their missionary life. The earliest teacher, Udāi Kundiyāyaṇa, was associated with the city of Rājagļha and had preached for 22 years. This suggests that Udāi Kundiyāyaṇa