Consider the following statements related to Aajivaka Sect : A. Belief in Determinism B. The order of reincarnation can be changed. C. Belief in Austerity Select the correct answer using the codes given below : Codes :

Correct — option (4), A and C are correct.

A is correct. A. L. Basham's History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas (1951) calls the cardinal point of Makkhali Gosala's teaching a belief in Niyati, a principle of order that controlled every action and left no room for effective human will: strict determinism.

B is incorrect. In the Samannaphala Sutta, as Basham translates it, fool and wise alike pass through 8,400,000 great kalpas and only then make an end of sorrow.

No virtuous conduct, vow, penance or chastity can ripen karma early or use it up: 'That cannot be done.' Samsara 'can neither be lessened nor increased'; like a thrown ball of thread, it unwinds to its full length.

C is correct. Basham points to references to stern Ajivika austerities and says the Ajivikas generally followed the paths of pain, fasting and gentleness. The Bhagavati Sutra shows an Ajivika ascetic sometimes ending his life by extreme austerities.

A and C hold, so the answer is option (4), A and C are correct.

The idea to remember: Ajivikas = niyati (fixed destiny) plus severe austerity; the round of rebirth runs its fixed course.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Only A is correct. — A is right, but this code leaves out C, which is also correct. Basham points to stern Ajivika austerities and describes their religious path as one of pain, fasting and gentleness.

  Only A is correct would fit a determinist sect that did not practise austerity, which is not the Ajivikas.

• (2)
  Only B is correct. — B is the one false statement. Gosala's samsara is 'measured as with a bushel' and 'can neither be lessened nor increased'; no vow or penance changes its course.

  Only B is correct would describe a teaching in which effort reorders one's rebirths, the very idea Gosala denies in the Samannaphala Sutta.

• (3)
  A and B are correct. — A is right, but B is wrong, and C is left out. Belief in fixed destiny and belief that the order of rebirth can be changed pull in opposite directions.

  A and B are correct pairs niyati with the claim that niyati rules out.

The Ajivikas were an ascetic order whose founder was Makkhali Gosala. Basham calls Ajivikism a third heretical sect beside Buddhism and Jainism, often on poor terms with both.

Its core was niyati: whatever happens is fixed by an all-embracing order, and human effort changes nothing. Beings pass through a set number of births before release, as a thrown ball of thread unwinds.

The order still practised severe austerity. Basham writes that it survived its founder's death by nearly two thousand years and was, at least locally, a significant factor in ancient Indian religious life.

Key facts

• Makkhali Gosala founded the Ajivika sect; Basham calls it a third heretical sect beside Buddhism and Jainism.
• The cardinal Ajivika doctrine was niyati, an all-embracing principle of order that left human volition ineffectual.
• In the Samannaphala Sutta, fool and wise alike pass through 8,400,000 great kalpas before making an end of sorrow.
• Basham notes stern Ajivika austerities; the Bhagavati Sutra shows Ajivika ascetics sometimes ending life by extreme austerities.
• Ashoka gave caves in the Barabar Hill near Gaya to the Ajivikas; Dasaratha dedicated caves in the Nagarjuni hill.

Common traps

• Treating determinism and austerity as incompatible: Basham records both niyati and stern Ajivika austerities, so neither A nor C falls on that ground.
• Reading B through the Buddhist or Jain view of karma: in Gosala's teaching as reported, no vow or penance alters the course of samsara.
• Mixing 6th-century BC doctrines: niyati belongs to Makkhali Gosala, while RPSC's 2021 key assigns anekantavada and syadvada to Jainism.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The caves of the Barabar Hill near Gaya were dedicated by Ashoka to which sect?

  • (a)Buddhists
  • (b)Jainas
  • (c)Ajivikas
  • (d)Charvakas
  Answer(3) — Basham records Ashoka's dedicatory inscriptions giving Barabar Hill caves to the Ajivikas. Options (1), (2) and (4) are other traditions, not the sect named as recipient.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Makkhali Gosala is associated with which doctrine?

  • (a)Niyativada
  • (b)Syadvada
  • (c)Shunyavada
  • (d)Anekantavada
  Answer(1) — Basham calls niyati, the all-embracing principle of order, the cardinal point of Gosala's teaching. Options (2) and (4) are Jain doctrines in RPSC's 2021 key, and option (3) belongs to Mahayana Buddhist philosophy.