History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas

by A.L. Basham

Reprint of a classic on Indian religion, Hinduism. on a sect that emerged approximately the time of early Buddhism and emerging Jainism.

Genres: Religion, History, Philosophy, India

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1982

About the author

Professor Arthur Llewellyn Basham (24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a noted historian and indologist and author of a number of books.Possibly his most popular book is The Wonder That was India (Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1954) - published seven years after the 1947 Independence of India. Revised editions of the book were released in 1963 and then 1967. Rupa & Co, New Delhi brought out a paperback edition in 1981. Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, brought out a paperback edition in 1985. By 2001, the paperback version was in its 37th edition. Amazon.com staff review/book description reads "most widely used introduction to Indian civilization. Although first published in 1954, it has remained a classic interpretation."
Basham also wrote "History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas", based on his PhD work done under L. D. Barnett. He also wrote "The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism" jointly with Kenneth G. Zysk. A book about Basham, written by Sachindra Kumar Maity (published 1997, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 81-7017-326-4) is entitled Professor A.L. Basham, My Guruji and Problems and Perspectives of Ancient Indian History and Culture. the book includes 80 of Basham's letters addressed to the author. Thomas R. Trautmann a professor for history and anthropology at the University of Michigan, dedicated his book "Aryans and British India" (1997, University of California Press) 'In memory of A. L. Basham, British Sanskritist historian of India, guru, friend'.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book. The guy does an excellent job piecing together what is possible about the Ajivikas from every tiny tiny bit of scattered fragmentary evidence available about them in existing Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu texts (in that order of priority). What we get is a fairly thorough history of the school, as a philosophy closely related to Jainism in its origins. The two shared many of the same theological beliefs, and prophets. The problem is that towards the time of Mahavir and Buddha, the Ajivika prophet Gosala and Mahavir had a falling out and denounced one another. The key difference between the two was that Gosala was a believer in Nitya, or fate/physical determinism, whereas Mahavir (like basically all other indic philosophers) was a believer in Karma. I won't get into a highly detailed history of it here, but the book does a good job of following the origins, apex (under Ashoka's patronage) , and dissolution of the sect (it probably merged with Jainism and heterodox Vaishnavism). Narrowing down the doctrines is a bit harder than the history, because its more heavily distorted by "odium theologicus." But nevertheless, he does explain what we know about Ajivika beliefs regarding different classes of humans based on their purity (similar to jain system), determinism, rebirth, moksha as a non-permanent state, beliefs about karma, atomism, possibile ajivika deities, etc. He links the Ajivikas with Purana Kassyapa, and credits them therefore with being the first Indian atomists, from which Jain, Buddhist and Vaisheshika systems of atomism were derived.

Really obscure topic, but if you are interested in historical mysteries, dead religions, the edges of history, border cases, ancient systems of materialism or determinism, this will be enjoyable to you.

[Barun Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth every penny to read a book which encapsulates and describes with as much detail as possible about a religion that was born in India around the same time as Buddhism and Jainism but about which so little remains in the form of historical evidence.

[Gordon Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource on Ajivikas and familiarizing yourself with Basham's sourcework

[Revanth Ukkalam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Basham is like to returning to the household of my father after roaming the world for a long time. This is my second such return. The book is an excellent case of how to groom a narrative out of scanty primary source: the Samannaphala Sutta, the Bhagavati Sutra and a handful of Pali literature and some Tamil literature. The book needless to say is from the Classical age and exhibits a very classical way of things. And from this ensues expertise and erudition that characterised that period - astounding philology and etymological speculation and suchlike. The most impressive bit is Basham's attempt to establish the relationship between the three Shramanic philosophers Maskarin, Kashyapa, and Katyayana using the portrayal of the Ajivikas in Manimekhalai and the 10th century Jivaka Chintamani. However, a work today would have explored more the ideological relation between the faiths and what this may betray about the social situation of the time.