In Jain words, “bhav‑bhraman” means the long wandering of a soul through different births (gati, jati, yonis) because of its own karmas.

For Goshalak (Gośāla Maṅkhaliputta), Jain āgams and later Jain ācāryas describe his bhav‑bhraman mainly in terms of the very heavy downfall he created for himself by his conduct toward Bhagwān Mahāvīr.

1. What Goshalak did (cause of his bhav‑bhraman)

In brief, according to Jain tradition:

• Goshalak lived with Bhagwān Mahāvīr as a companion for a number of years.
• Instead of developing humility and right faith, he became jealous, egoistic and deceitful.
• He broke away from Mahāvīr and started preaching his own wrong doctrine (Ajīvika), denying the true law of karma and effort.
• Later, filled with anger and rivalry,

- he insulted and abused Mahāvīr, - he used Tejoleshyā (a powerful destructive psychic energy) - he killed two Jain monks (Sarvānubhūti and Sunakshatra) and - he even tried to burn Mahāvīr himself with that same Tejoleshyā.

• By Bhagwān’s punya and very high spiritual state, the attack could not destroy Mahāvīr. The Tejoleshyā turned back on Goshalak himself, and he died in terrible agony after a few days.

From Jain‑dṛṣṭi this means:

• Gurū‑nindā (insulting a Tīrthankar / Arihant)
• Sādhu‑vadha (killing Jain monks)
• Mithyātva (spreading wrong belief)
• Intense anger, pride, deceit and greed (anantanubandhī kaṣāyas)
• Misuse of spiritual power to harm others

All these are among the heaviest sin‑karmas in Jainism.

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2. Goshalak’s bhav‑bhraman after that life (result)

Because of these actions, Jain texts say that Goshalak’s soul:

• Did not get any good next birth.
• It went to Nārak gati (hellish birth),
• and had to suffer severe tortures in the hells, again and again (i.e. in multiple hell levels and cycles) for a very long time.

In simple words:

• His karmic load became so heavy that his path to liberation (moksha) was pushed extremely far away.
• Even when he died, his inner feeling of true repentance and pratikraman was weak and incomplete, so:

- he got only a very slight touch of right‑view (samkit) at death, - but not enough to become a real ārādhak (serious spiritual practitioner).

• Therefore his soul will wander for countless further births in:

- hellish states (nārak), - animal/plant lives (tiryanch), - human and heavenly births, according to its remaining karmas.

Jain ācāryas clearly emphasize that he will not attain liberation for an extremely long time because of:

1. Hatred toward a Tīrthankar
2. Killing of sadhus
3. Deliberately misleading many people away from true dharma.

Exact step‑by‑step listing of all his future births is not given in commonly available Jain scriptures; what is stressed is the severity and length of his downfall in saṃsār.

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3. Spiritual lesson from Goshalak’s bhav‑bhraman

From Jain standpoint, Goshalak’s story is preserved mainly as a warning:

• Never insult, hate or harm true Gurus, Sādhus, or Tīrthankars.
• Never misuse any spiritual ability for anger or ego.
• Wrong belief plus intense passions can turn a human birth with great opportunity into countless painful births.

So, Goshalak’s bhav‑bhraman is the journey of a soul that:

• Stood very close to a living Tīrthankar,
• Chose jealousy and ego instead of humility and samkit,
• And therefore fell into very long, painful wandering in saṃsār before it will again get a real chance for liberation.