Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India

Author(s): Pranabananda Jash
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

Page 131

On the Ajivikas
103
(paramasukhá-bhijātas) of men. Elsewhere Buddha” declares that although the Ājivikas had existed for a long time, they had only three reputed teachers, viz., Nanda Vaccha, Kisa Sankicca and Makkhali Gośāla. It evidently shows that Ājivikism was an established and well organised school of philosophy at the time of Buddha, and Gośāla was only one of the distinguished teacher of the school. His contribution towards the development of this religious sect and its organisation made him reputed apparently to the extent of its founder.
It is interesting to note in this connection that the Ājivikas, like the tīrthankara conception of the Jainas, believes in a succession of ascetic teachers of the same order of Gośála who is the eighth Ājīvika teacher. The Bhagavuii-surra3 speaks of the following seven "Ajīvika teachers whose spiritual mantle had fallen upon his (Gośāla's) shoulders.":24
(1) Udāi Kundiyāyaṇiya (2) Eņejjaga (Skt. ķņañjaya) (3) Mallarāma (4) Mandiya (5) Roha (6) Bhāraddāi (Skt. Bharadvāja) (7) Ajjuna Goyamaputta
Due to paucity of any positive evidences it is rather hazardous to ascertain the historicity of the entire list of successive teachers of the Ajīvika order prior to Gośāla. A.L. Basham argues that "the immediate predecessor of Gośāla, Ajjuņa Goyamaputta, is distinguished by a gotra name or patronymic, as Udāi Kundiyayaņa, in whose body the migrant soul was originally born: but the other five names are given without patronymics."25 This leads Basham to conclude that the first and the seventh were 'real', while the others seem to have been 'shadowy figures'. 26 It is difficult to share the logic followed by Basham. On the other hand, it may be argued that since the list has been prepared by the staunch enemies of the Ājivikas, there is, no doubt, about its genuineness. Secondly, it is not expected from the Jaina writer who composed Bhagavati-sūtra to have an exhaustive record of the vitae of the personnel of their hostile camp. Thirdly, the account further shows that "in this ... enumeration ... there is preserved a