Early Asceticism in India ─ Ajivikism and Jainism

This book presents the beginnings of two ancient South Asian religions, Jainism and Ajivikism, as well as the close historical links between these two religious and ascetic traditions, which go back to the 5^th and 6^th century BCE.

New light is thrown on the relations between the two founders of these religions, Mahavira Vardhamana (one of the founders of Jainism) and Gooeala Maokhaliputra, known in Buddhist sources as Makkhali Gosala (one of the founders of the Ajivikas). The book provides new information on the relatively unknown religion of Ajivikism, and discusses how this information enables us to better understand its impact on Jainism and its role in the development of Indian religion and philosophy. It goes on to look at a number of doctrines and tenets of the Ajivikas, and demonstrates how they permeated certain concepts developed within Jainism. The book also shows how these two religions have a lot in common, including sharing some world view, moral code, ascetic discipline, cosmology, respect for all forms of animate life (they both considered even some minerals animate), epistemology and even some scriptures.

The book will be a useful contribution to Jaina Studies, Asian Religion and Religious History.

Piotr Balcerowicz is Professor of Philosophy and South Asian Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland.