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Corroboration of the Conclusion
123
tional date of Buddha's Nirvāṇa, prevalent in Chinese Turkestan,' and also known as “Khotan Tradition.”
This tradition places the King Aśoka 250 years after the Nirvāṇa of Buddha by taking him as a contemporary of the Chinese emperor Shih-Huang-Ti. Some scholars, on the basis of the fact that Shih-Huang-Ti's accession took place in 245 B.C., have accepted (246+250=) 496 B.C. as the date of Buddha's Nirvāņa. It may be noted that there is only a nominal difference of 6 years between this date and our conclusion. But, it seems that the interval of 250 years between Buddha's Nirvāṇa and Aśoka should, in reality, be the one between Buddha's Nirvāṇa and the famous third Buddhist council, that had taken place in the 18th year after Aśoka's consecration, and according to historians, in 252 B.C. Hence, the date of Buddha's Nirvāṇa, on the basis of the above tradition should be 252+250=502 B.C. which exactly coincides with our conclusion. 3. Asoka's Edicts
The stone (rocks) and pillars inscribed by Aśoka the great Mauryan emperor, are, in fact the foundation-stones and foundation pillars of Indian history. Many a doubtful facts regarding history were made undoubtful on the basis of the above inscriptions. The present conclusion regarding the date of Buddha's Nirvāṇa is too corroborated by these edicts. The edicts are mainly divided in the following types :
5 Minor Rock Edicts 14 Rock Edicts 4 Minor pillar Edicts
1. See Traditional Dates of Buddha's Nirvana in Chapter VII of
this book. 2. See, for example Janardan Bhatt, Buddha Kālīna Bhārata, p. 213. 3. Dr. Ramashankar Tripathi. Pracina Bhārat kā Itihasa, p. 129.
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