Ajivika (, IAST: ) is an ancient nāstika, or 'heterodox,' Indian school of absolute fatalism or extreme determinism. The Ājīvika school is known for its Niyati ("Fate") doctrine and for the premise that there is no free will, that everything that has happened, is happening and will happen is entirely preordained and a function of cosmic principles. Ājīvikas were organized renunciates who formed discrete communities.
Original scriptures of the Ājīvika school of philosophy may once have existed, but these are currently unavailable and probably lost. however, they believed that in every living being there is an ātman—a central premise of the Vedas.
The metaphysics of Ājīvika included a theory of atoms, where everything was composed of atoms, qualities emerged from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms were predetermined by cosmic laws and forces. The Ājīvika philosophy, along with the Cārvāka philosophy, appealed most to the warrior, industrial, and mercantile classes of ancient Indian society.
Etymology and meaning
means "Follower of the Way of Life". Ajivika (Prakrit: , ; , IAST: ) or adivika (Prakrit: , ) are both derived from Sanskrit () which literally means "livelihood, lifelong, mode of life". The term Ajivika means "those following special rules with regard to Iivelihood", sometimes connoting "religious mendicants" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts. The name came to imply that the school of Indian philosophy which lived a good simple mendicant-like livelihood for its own sake and as part of its predeterministic beliefs, rather than for the sake of after-life or motivated by any soteriological reasons.
History
Origins
Ājīvika philosophy is cited in ancient texts of Buddhism and Jainism to Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira. Ancient texts of Buddhism and Jainism mention a city in the 1st millennium BCE named Savatthi (Sanskrit Śravasti) as the hub of the Ājīvikas; it was located near Ayodhya in what is now the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In later part of the common era, inscriptions suggests that the Ājīvikas had a significant presence in the South Indian state of Karnataka, prominently in Kolar district and some places of Tamil Nadu. Raju states that "Ājīvikas and Cārvākas can be called Hindus" and adds that "the word Hinduism has no definite meaning". Epigraphical evidence suggests that emperor Ashoka, in the 3rd century BCE, considered Ājīvikas to be more closely related to the schools of Vedics than to Buddhists, Jainas or other Indian schools of thought.
thumb|Ashoka Barabar Caves Edicts for Ajivikas
Biography of Makkhali Gosala
thumb|260px|[[Ashoka's Seventh Pillar Edict mentions Ajivikas: "Some Mahamatras were ordered by me to busy themselves with the affairs of the Samgha. Likewise others were ordered by me to busy themselves also with the Brahmanas (and) Ajivikas" (Line 25). Photograph of the portion of the 7th Edict, in the Brahmi script on the Ashoka pillar of Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi (3rd century BCE), with "Ājīvikesu" (𑀆𑀚𑀻𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀲𑀼) inscription. that he was born in the settlement Saravana, in the vicinity apparently of the city of Savatthi.(Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh) and was the son of Mankha, a professional mendicant. His mother was Bhaddā. His name Gosala "cowshed" refers to his humble birthplace.
Gosala is described in ancient texts as a contemporary of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and of Gautama Buddha. The Jain Bhagavati Sutra refers to him as Gosala Mankhaliputta ("son of Mankhali"). The text depicts Gosala as having been a disciple of Mahavira's for a period of six years, after which the two had a falling out and parted ways.
Inscriptions and caves
thumb|260px|The 3rd century BCE mendicant caves of the Ājīvikas (Barabar, near [[Gaya, India|Gaya, Bihar)]]
[[File:Visvakarma cave Ashoka inscription.jpg|thumb|Dedicatory inscription of Ashoka in Visvakarma/Viswamitra cave, Barabar. The word "Ājīvikas" (𑀆𑀤𑀻𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀳𑀺, Ādīvikehi) was later attacked with the burin, at a time when the Brahmi script was still understood, i.e. before the 5th century, but remains decipherable. The Barabar caves were carved out of granite, has a highly polished internal cave surfaces, and each consists of two chambers, the first is a large rectangular hall, the second is a small, circular, domed chamber. These were probably used for meditation.
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Barabar caves Sudama inside.jpg|Cave of Sudama, dedicated to the Ajivikas by Ashoka. Barabar Caves, 3rd century BCE.
Barabar Visvakarma Cave.jpg|Cave of Visvakarma, dedicated to the Ajivikas by Ashoka. Barabar Caves, 3rd century BCE.
Gopika cave outside.jpg|Cave of Gopita, dedicated to the Ajivikas by Dasharatha Maurya. Barabar Caves, 3rd century BCE.
Vadathika and Vapiyaka caves BL.jpg|Caves of Vadathika and Vapiyaka, dedicated to the Ajivikas by Dasharatha Maurya. Barabar Caves, 3rd century BCE.
</gallery>
Decline
After the decline of the Maurya Empire in the 2nd century BCE, the Ajivikas find only occasional mentions in the Sanskrit literature and do not appear to have been serious rivals to other sects. The final versions of the Buddhist and Jain scriptures were compiled at a later period, but the description of Ajivikas in these texts likely represents the conditions of the Maurya and pre-Maurya times.
In northern India, Ajivikas may have become insignificant by the Shunga period (1st century BCE), although they may have survived until the 15th century, as suggested by stray references to them in various texts. References in the Vayu Purana suggest that during the Gupta period (fourth-6th century CE) the Ajivika practices had changed substantially, and their sect was declining rapidly.
In some of the Barabar Caves inscriptions, the words referring to the Ajivikas appear to have been defaced, although the rest of the text appears intact. The selective nature of these defacements suggests that they were carried out by the religious rivals of the Ajivikas. This defacement must have taken place when the Brahmi script had still not been forgotten, likely some time before the 5th century CE. The Caves were subsequently occupied by Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims. It is unlikely that the Muslims defaced the inscriptions, as the Brahmi script was illegible to them. E. Hultzsch theorized that the defacement took place when the Maukhari (c. 6th century) ruler Ananta-varman installed Hindu images at the Caves. However, Basham dismisses this theory, noting that there is little evidence to support this view and the only cave in which the word Ajivikehi remains intact is among the three caves where Ananta-varman installed a Hindu image. Based on similarities of carvings at the Barabar and the Udaygiri Caves, scholar A. Banerji Sastri theorized that the Kalinga monarch Kharavela (1st-2nd century BCE) evicted the Ajivikas to favour Jains, but Basham finds this evidence inconclusive. According to Basham, any ruler of Magadha between the Maurya and the Gupta periods may have been responsible for the persecution of the Ajivikas.
The Brhaj-jataka of Varahamihira (6th century) mentions the Ajivikas (among other major ascetic groups) in an astrological context, stating that a person born under a certain planetary influence becomes an Ajivika ascetic. According to the 9th-10th century commentator Utpala, "Ajivika" in this context refers to the Vaishnavite Ekadandin ascetics. However, according to historian Ajay Mitra Shastri, Varahamihira indeed refers to the Ajivikas, who may have existed as an influential sect in the 6th century. A.L. Basham notes that there are several such instances of Ajivikas being confused with other major sects: for example, the commentator of Achara-sara believes them to be Buddhist, and in Neelakesi, the Ajivika leader clarifies that his followers should not be mistaken for Digambaras. According to Basham, this suggests that the surviving Ajivikas adopted some of the beliefs and customs of the more popular faiths and possibly merged with them.
The Jain commentator Mallisena, who wrote Syadvada-manjari (1292 CE), suggests that the Ajivikas existed during his time; he may have been aware of the Ajivikas of southern India. At least 17 inscriptions from southern India suggest that a tax was imposed on Ajivikas or Acuvas (believed to be a Tamil form of Ajivikas) there. These inscriptions range from the time of the Pallava king Simhavarman II (c. 446 CE) to the 14th century. The last of these inscriptions are dated to 1346 CE (Shaka 1268), found at three different places around Kolar. E. Hultzsch and Rudolf Hoernlé theorized that the term Ajivika (Acuva) refers to Jains in this context, and some others—such as A. Chakravarti—doubt the equivalence of the terms "Ajivika" and "Acuva". However, Basham believes that these inscriptions indeed refer to the Ajivikas and that they may have survived there until the 15th century, as suggested by the writings of Vaidyanatha Dikshita. The Ajivikas may have completely declined because of the growing Hindu, Buddhist and Jain influence.
The 14th century Sarva-Darshana-Sangraha, a compendium of the Indian philosophical systems, makes no mention of Ajivikas, which indicates the decline of their sect.
Reliability of sources
Ājīvikas competed with and debated the scholars of Buddhism, Jainism, and Vedics. The Ājīvika movement is primarily known from historical references left behind in Jain and Buddhist sources, that may therefore be hostile to it.
More recent work by scholars suggests that the Ājīvika were perhaps misrepresented by Jain and Buddhist sources.
Paul Dundas states that the Jain and Buddhist texts cannot be considered reliable source of Ājīvika history and philosophy, because "it seems doubtful whether a doctrine [of Ajivikas] which genuinely advocated the lack of efficacy of individual effort could have formed the basis of a renunciatory path to spiritual liberation", and that "the suspicion must be that the Jains and Buddhists deliberately distorted Ajivika doctrine for their own polemical purposes". In contrast, other scholars The Buddhist and Jaina sources describe them as strict fatalists, who did not believe in karma. Its adherents did not presume any deity as the creator of the universe, or as prime mover, or that some unseen mystical end was the final resting place of the cosmos.
In later texts, the Tamil Nīlakēci, a story of two divinities, Okkali and Ōkali, relates that the Ājīvikas instructed men in the scriptures.
Ajivikas believed that every being has a soul (Atman). However, unlike Jains and various orthodox schools of Hinduism that held that the soul is formless, Ajivikas asserted that the soul has a material form that helps meditation. They also believed the soul passes through many births and ultimately progresses unto its pre-destined nirvana (salvation). Basham states that some texts suggest evidence of Vaishnavism-type devotional practices among some Ajivikas.
Atomism
Ajivikas developed a theory of elements and atoms similar to the Vaisheshika school of Vedics. Everything was composed of minuscule atoms, according to Ajivikas, and qualities of things are derived from aggregates of atoms, but cosmic forces predetermined the aggregation and nature of these atoms.
The description of Ajivikas' atomism is inconsistent with that described in Buddhist and Vedic texts. According to three Tamil texts, the Ajivikas held there exists seven kayas (Sanskrit: काय, assemblage, collection, elemental categories): pruthvi-kaya (earth), apo-kaya (water), tejo-kaya (fire), vayo-kaya (air), sukha (joy), dukkha (sorrow), and jiva (life). The first four relate to matter, the last three to non-matter. These elements are akata (neither created nor destroyed), vanjha (barren, that which never multiplies or reproduces), and have an existence independent of the other. The elements, asserts Ajivika theory in the Tamil text Manimekalai, are made of paramanu (atoms), where atoms were defined as that which cannot be further subdivided, that which cannot penetrate another atom, that which is neither created nor destroyed, that which retains its identity by never growing nor expanding nor splitting nor changing, yet that which moves, assembles and combines to form the perceived.
Influence
Isaeva suggests that the ideas of Ajivika influenced Buddhism and various schools of Vedic thought. The entire story may be apocryphal.
According to K. T. S. Sarao and Benimadhab Barua, stories of persecutions of Ajivikas by Ashoka appear to be a clear fabrication arising out of sectarian propaganda. Ashoka's own inscriptions Barabar Caves record his generous donations and patronage to Ajivikas.
An earlier Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, similarly mentions a debate, disagreement, and then "coming to blows" between factions led by Mahavira and by Gosala.