parivrājaka (Sanskrit, wanderer; Pāli, paribbājaka). Class of Indian religious mendicants holding various beliefs who have travelled around India from ancient times, including at the time of the Buddha. These wandering teachers, who included women in their number, engaged with one another in debate on a range of topics. Special meeting places were set aside for them and the local inhabitants came to pay their respects. A representative sample of their views may be found in the Brahmajāla Sutta of the Pāli Canon. Some Parivrājakas claimed their teachings were the same as those of the Buddha, but he rejected this assertion. Many converts to Buddhism were made from the ranks of the Parivrājakas, the two most notable being Śāriputra and Mahāmaudgalyāyana.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)