Several Mauryan emperors lent the Ajivikas unusually high-profile backing. Shrines hewn into the granite of Barabar Hills bear the names of “Devanampriya Priyadarshi” (Ashoka) and his grandson Dasharatha, both of whom endowed rock-cut caves expressly for Ajivika monks. Inscriptions dated to around 250 BCE record Ashoka’s gift of the Lomas Rishi Cave, while Dasharatha commissioned Sudama and Visvakarma caves “for all followers of the Ajivika sect.”

Even before Ashoka’s reign, Bindusara—Chandragupta’s son and Ashoka’s father—was reputedly an Ajivika adherent. Contemporary chronicles hint he remained true to the sect’s strict determinism, despite the growing influence of both Buddhism and Jainism at court.

Farther south, early Tamil rulers also showed them favor. Sangam poems and later epigraphy suggest Pandya and Chera kings granted land and cave shelters to wandering Ajivika ascetics, helping them establish communal seats near busy trade routes. In doing so, these monarchs ensured the sect’s doctrines—predestination at its most rigid—had a firm foothold among coastal merchants and local elites.

By the early centuries CE, however, royal patronage shifted decisively towards Buddhists and Jains. Archaeological finds from recent digs in Bihar and Tamil Nadu underline how quickly Ajivika foundations were eclipsed, their sanctuaries abandoned or repurposed. What survives today is a handful of inscriptions and the echo of a once-powerful tradition, frozen in stone.