Ever feel like entering into somebody else’s dead body and walking around in it for a while? Of course, you do! Travel with us back to ancient India in the 5th century BCE, where an ascetic religion called Ajivika believed you could totally do this.

And be sure to review us on iTunes to get yourself drawn as a comic book character by us!

co-hosts   Nick and Anna

time / place   India, 5th cen. BCE

dead idea   Reanimating dead corpses and living in them (a feature of the extinct religion called Ajivika)

Main Sources

Anguttara Nikaya.

Barua, B. M. (1920). The Ajivikas. University of Calcutta.

Basham, A. L. (1951). History and Doctrines of the Ajivika: A Vanished Indian Religion. London: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Bhagavati Sutra.

Hoernle, A. F. R. (1908) “Ajivikas.” Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 1. James Hastings, Ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

McEvilley, T. (2002). The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Thought. New York: Allworth Press.

Rg Veda.

Samannaphala Sutta.

Maps, pics, references, and more at http://www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.