Ajivika tradition

E448490

The Ajivika tradition was an ancient Indian ascetic and philosophical movement known for its strict determinism and belief in an impersonal cosmic order governing all events.

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Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form Occurrences
Ajivika 1
Ajivika (attributed) 1
Ajivika ascetics 1

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Indian religious movement
ascetic tradition
philosophical school
archaeologicalEvidence inscriptions from Mauryan period
associatedWithRuler Ashoka NERFINISHED
Bindusara NERFINISHED
believesIn inevitability of all events
contemporaryWith Buddhism NERFINISHED
Jainism NERFINISHED
contrastedWith Buddhist doctrine of conditioned arising
Jain doctrine of karma and austerity
cosmicPrinciple Niyati NERFINISHED
cosmology fixed cycle of cosmic time
predetermined transmigration of souls
declinePeriod late 1st millennium CE
denies free will
ethicalView karma is powerless to change destiny
flourishedIn Magadha NERFINISHED
Maurya Empire NERFINISHED
founderTraditionallyAttributedTo Makkhali Gosala NERFINISHED
historicalPeriod 1st millennium BCE
influenced later Indian debates on determinism
influencedBy broader Śramaṇa milieu
knownFrom hostile or rival sources
languageContext early Middle Indo-Aryan languages
mainDoctrine belief in an impersonal cosmic order
strict determinism
mentionedIn Buddhist texts
Jain texts
practices naked asceticism
severe asceticism
wandering mendicancy
regionOfActivity Ganges valley NERFINISHED
South India NERFINISHED
religiousTraditionOf India NERFINISHED
religiousType Śramaṇa movement NERFINISHED
scripturesStatus original texts lost
socialComposition lay supporters
wandering ascetics
status extinct religious tradition
teacherOf Makkhali Gosala NERFINISHED
viewOnGod impersonal cosmic principle rather than personal deity
viewOnLiberation liberation occurs automatically at destined time
viewOnMorality moral effort cannot alter predetermined fate
viewOnRitual Vedic ritual ineffective to change destiny
viewOnSoul soul passes through fixed number of births

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bindusara associatedWith Ajivika tradition
this entity surface form: Ajivika ascetics
Indian religions includes Ajivika tradition
this entity surface form: Ajivika
Bindusara religion Ajivika tradition
this entity surface form: Ajivika (attributed)
ancient India religionOrigin Ajivika tradition
subject surface form: Ancient India