Studies in the Bhagavati Sutra

Author(s): J C Sikdar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 461

436 STUDIES IN THE BHAGAWATÍ SÚTRA (Ch. VİL as the last Tirthankara in Avasarpiņā-kāla indicates that there were other predecessors of this great Ajīvika leader, though this statement seems to be an interpolation of the author of the Bhs. According to this canonical work Udāyan, Aiņeyaka, Mallarāma, Mandika, Roha, Bhāradvāja and Arjuna Gautamaputra appear to be his seven predecessors including Arjuna, as the list of these personalities shows that there was a line of ascetic teachers of the Ajāvika order, though the progressive diminution by one year of the period of each Parivritya parihāra raises a doubt about the artificiality of the plan inserted by some hand
The association of these ascetics with different Caityas outside various cities as the centres of their activities and the variance of the Gotra names, e. g. Kaunddikāyana Gotra of Udāyin and Gautana Gotra of Arjuna support the contention of the real existence of these teachers prior to the period of Gośāla. The evidence of the Bhs regarding the existence of line of the Ajivika teachers is also corroborated by the Buddhist work? where Gośāla appears as one of the six religious teachers of his age including himself, namely, Pūrāņa Kassapai, Ajitakesakam. bali, Pakudha Kaccāyana, SanjayaBelaţthiputta and Niggantha Nātaputta.
Besides, the occurence of the names of Nanda-vaccha and Kisa-samkicca along with that of Makkhali Gosāla in the Buddbist texts clearly reveals that they were the Ājivika leaders. Now there arises the question of priority in time of these three teachers. Dr. Hoernle is of opinion that Nanda and Kisa were probably the two contemporaries of Gosāla on the ground that “there were indeed other groups of ascetics of a similarly dubious character who also bore the name of Azīvika,
1 E.G. Jātaka, 1. 509; Digha, II, 150.
Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the Digha-Nikāya, 1, pp. 47ff.
Ville ‘History & Doctrine of Ajivikas' Dr. Basham, p. 11. ? Anguttara Niküya, III, p. 382 ; Majjhima Nikāya, 1,
p. 238, p. 524.