Ajivikas, Charvakas and Other Heterodox Sects

At a Glance

• Source Samannaphala Sutta lists six teachers
• Ajivika doctrine Niyati (fate)
• Greatest Ajivika Makkhali Gosala
• Materialists Ajita Kesakambalin and Charvaka
• Patronage Potters and bankers
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Religious Movements, Mahajanapadas and Foreign Invasions

Where Does It Fit?

This is the seventh topic of the category on religious movements. The previous topic covered Buddhist councils and decline, and this one covers the other sects of the period. The next topic covers the economy of the age. Previous topic: Buddhist Councils, Decline of Buddhism and its Significance.

Which Teachers Challenged Orthodoxy?

In short: besides Mahavira and the Buddha, several teachers founded sects in the mid-Ganges plains.

Another account explains that the Vedic religion was not fully organised, so its reach did not permeate society and people found it easy to follow the new sects; the elite, disillusioned with the system, moved in protest towards the heterodox religions blossoming in Magadha. A Buddhist text, the Samannaphala Sutta, says that before meeting the Buddha, Ajatashatru of Magadha discussed philosophy with the leaders of various sects: Purana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala, Ajita Kesakambalin, Pakudha Kacchayana, Sanjaya Belatthiputta and Nigantha Nataputta, that is, Mahavira. They are described as homeless wanderers, founders of sects and leaders of orders. These sects were key rivals of Buddhism, and their doctrines were shown to be unsatisfactory while the Buddha’s was acceptable to Ajatashatru.

What Did the Ajivikas Believe?

The Ajivikas evolved from one of the many ascetic groups of the time. According to Buddhist records Nanda Vaccha was considered the founder, succeeded by Kisa Samkicca and then Makkhali Gosala, the third and greatest of the Ajivikas. Gosala met Mahavira at Nalanda and their friendship lasted six years before doctrinal differences separated them. He then went to Sravasti, which became the headquarters of the sect, where he was patronised by a rich potter woman called Halahala. The Ajivikas were naked ascetics. Their basic principle was niyati, or fate: nothing in the world could be changed since everything was predetermined, and everyone had to pass through a series of transmigrations to put an end to pain. According to them there were six inevitable factors in life: gain and loss, joy and sorrow, life and death. Gosala believed in reanimation and ridiculed the severe austerities of Vedic ascetics. Purana Kassapa and Pakudha Kacchayana joined after Gosala’s death and infused new life. Purana Kassapa held that actions did not have any merit or demerit, and Pakudha held that the world was made of seven substances that do not alter, change or interfere with one another. The Ajivikas had rich lay disciples such as potters and bankers, the sect spread across the country, though its influence was much less than Buddhism and Jainism. Tamil texts such as Manimekalai, Nilakesi and Sivagnanasiddhiyar refer to Ajivika doctrine, and the Cholas are known to have levied a tax on the Ajivikas.

Who Were the Materialists?

Ajita Kesakambalin, Ajita of the hair blanket, was a materialist. He believed that every human is made of four primary elements, fire, water, wind and sense, which return to the earth after death, and that there is no life after death. In the Samannaphala Sutta he declares that generosity is taught by fools and that after the body breaks up the wise and foolish alike are annihilated. The term lokayata signifies materialist thought, and Indian materialism was also named Charvaka after one of its two founders. Charvaka and Ajita are said to have established Indian materialism as a formal philosophical system. The Charvakas developed scepticism, sought knowledge through experience and questioned the authority of the Vedas; Charvaka is examined in Charvaka and the Materialistic View of Life.

There was intense rivalry among heterodox sects, and Buddhist and Jaina texts belittle other sects. The Jaina Bhagavatisutra, for instance, gives a poor account of Makkhali Gosala. As an analytical point, the depiction of Gosala as a person of vicious character comes from rival traditions, so the Ajivikas must be studied cautiously; their own texts have not survived. The wider background is in Causes of the Rise of New Religious Movements in the Sixth Century BC, and the organised philosophy that later grew from this ferment is in Six Systems of Indian Philosophy.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Prelims lists Names and doctrines
• Comparison Fatalism versus karma
• Source criticism Rival accounts

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the second urbanisation and the rural economy in the age of the Buddha. Next topic: Second Urbanisation and Rural Economy in the Age of the Buddha.

Key People and Terms

• Niyati Fate
• Ajivika Fatalist ascetic sect
• Lokayata Materialism
• Samannaphala Sutta Buddhist text listing six teachers
• Reanimation Gosala’s doctrine
• Transmigration Cycle of births

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for the religious ferment. These points add depth.

• Variety Fatalism and materialism
• Rivalry Hostile accounts
• Legacy Overshadowed