The verses in the Nandaka Petavatthu have many phrases in parallel with those in the Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka and the Chinese translation of the Buddhacaritasaṅgrahasūtra.
The verses in the Nandaka Petavatthu can be regarded as the Ājīvika’s teachings because it is the Ājīvika monk who offers the same in the Mahānāradakassapa jātaka.
Parallel phrases with the verses in the Nandaka Petavatthu are also seen in texts which belong to the Theravāda or Sarvāstivāda. These are Dīgha Nikāya 2 Sāmaññaphalasutta, Majjhima Nikāya 60 Apaṇṇakasutta, Majjhima Nikāya 76 Sandakasutta, Saṃyutta Nikāya 24 Diṭṭhi, the Chinese translation of Saṃyuktāgama （T. 99）, the Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the Chinese translation of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya （T. 1442）, the Chinese translation of the Pravrajyāvastu in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya （T. 1444）, the Chinese translation of the Abhidharmajñānaprasthānaśāstra （T. 1544）, and the Chinese translation of the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣāśāstra （T. 1545）.
There is possibility that the verses in the Nandaka Petavatthu present the teachings of later Ājīvikas, which include the doctrine of nihilism （natthikavāda）, the doctrine of annihilation （ucchedavāda）, the doctrine of fatalism （niyativāda）, the doctrine of eternalism （sassatavāda）, and the doctrine of purification by reincarnation.
