The forgotten religion of the Ajivikas can tell us a great deal about the religions and empires of the early Gangetic Plains. Anirudh visits the medieval Jain site of Shravanabelagola near Bangalore, recounts the story of the mysterious Ajivika teacher Makkhali Goshala, and explains how the rise of the mighty empire of the Mauryas is connected to this vanished religious tradition.

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