Ajita Kesakambalin
Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
Ajita Kesakambalin was a teacher who lived at the same time as the Buddha (c. 6th–5th century BCE). He belonged to the Lokāyata tradition, which is usually called "materialist": it held that only the physical world exists. He said a human being is made of four elements that break apart at death. So there is nothing after death, and alms and sacrifices are useless. None of his own texts survive. We know his views only from rival Buddhist writings.
Example
In the Sutta Pitaka, king Ajātasattu of Magadha reports Ajita's teaching to the Buddha. At death, he says, "earth returns to earth, fluid to water, heat to fire, wind to air", and the senses pass into space. He calls the talk of gifts "a doctrine of fools".
Don't confuse with
- Makkhali Gosāla: Gosāla was an Ājīvika, called a "fatalist". He believed everything is fixed in advance. Ajita denied that any life follows this one.