- It was a school of thought that developed in India during the same time as Jainism and Buddhism
- It is one of the schools under Nastika philosophy (it does not believe in the authority of Vedas)
- It was founded by Goshala Maskariputra (He is considered to be friends with Mahavira)
- The sect is as seen as professing total determinism in the transmigration of souls, or series of rebirths.
- Whereas other groups believed that an individual can better his or her lot in the course of transmigration, the Ajivikas supposedly held that the affairs of the entire universe were ordered by a cosmic force called niyati that determined all events, including an individual’s fate, to the last detail
- Ajivikas also believe that all change was illusory and that everything was eternally immobile.
- This school of thought gained prominence for some time during Mauryan rule
Fig: Mendicant caves of extinct Ājīvikas in Bihar