Read the passage and answer the question :

"Though the wise should hope, by this virtue... by this penance I will gain karma... and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsant (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased... just as a ball of string will when thrown unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make and end of sorrow".

Who amongst the following have been described as 'fatalists'?

Ajivikas

The correct answer is Option (4) → Ajivikas

Makkhali Gosala belonged to the Ajivika tradition, characterized by their belief in fatalism, the notion that everything in life is predetermined. King Ajatasattu met him and described the conversation he had with Gosala to Buddha.

The term "fatalists" is used in the passage to describe those who adhere to the belief that the course of one's life, including pleasure and pain, is predetermined and cannot be altered. This is a deterministic view, meaning that individuals have no control over the outcomes in their lives, and everything is preordained.

The Ajivikas, a religious and philosophical sect in ancient India, were known for their deterministic and fatalistic views. They believed in a rigid system of fate and destiny, where individuals had no influence over their karma and the course of samsara (the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth). The passage's description of how "neither the wise nor the fool can do it" and how pleasure and pain are unalterable aligns with the fatalistic perspective of the Ajivikas.