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Lord Mahāvira and His Times penance, and preliminary wanderings before making Śrāvasti his headquarters. HIS EFFORTS FOR PROPAGATION
It is not likely that Gośāla resided for sixteen years continually at Săvatthi; probably like his great rivals Mahāvīra and the Buddha, he travelled from place to place among the towns and villages of the Ganga valley, preaching and gathering converts. There is evidence that the Ajīvikas, both ascetics and laymen, existed in a fairly large number at this time. His mission consisted largely in knitting together local Ajivika holymen and their followers, regularising their doctrines and gaining converts by the display of pseudo-supernatural powers. He obtained the strongest support for this sect at Sāvatthi. The Kośalan king Pasenadi was more favourably disposed towards this sect than was his contemporary Bimbisāra of Magadha. ĀJĪVIKA SCRIPTURES AND THE DEATH OF GOŚĀLA .
When Gośāla made his headquarters at Săvatthi in the workshop of the potter woman Hālahalā, he was surrounded by many disciples. At this time, he was visited by six disacharas, in consultation with whom he codified the Ājivika scriptures. The scriptures of the Ājīvikas consisted of ten Puvvas, i.e., eight Mahānimittas and two Maggas, like the fourteen Pūrvas of the Jainas. The dialect adopted for their scriptures was closely allied to Ardha Magadhi, a few stereotyped fragments of which have survived in the Jaina and Buddhist literatures.
Soon after the visit of the six diśācharas, Mahāvīra exposed Gośāla openly with the result that the relations between the two sects became very hostile. Afterwards Gośāla suffered from delirium and died. His death took place sixteen years before that of Malāvíra.
The comparison of the Buddhist references with those found in Jaina sources enables us to form a tolerable picture of the doctrines of Gośāla. While discussing these doctrines, we must also keep in mind that both Gośāla and Mahāvira lived together for some time and that the scriptures of the Ājīvikas and the Jainas are said to have some common sources of origin.
