________________
The Date of the Inscription
and its Author
An analysis of the data presented in this epigraph gives us much valuable information not only about the personality and achievements of Khāravela, but also about the political and social conditions of the times in which he lived. The most baffling problem about him is, however, his date.
This is the earliest known inscription which mentions dates of past historical events. The Tanasuliyavātā canal is stated to have been opened by the Nanda King in ti-vasa-sata or the year 103, the Tamila Confederacy is stated to have been formed in terasa-vasa-sata or the year 113, and the Principal Scripture of the Jains is stated to be declining in volume since pānatariyasatha-sata-vasa or the year 165. The question arises — in what era are these dates mentioned?
The circumstance that the inscription was incised on the occasion of a religious ceremony, lends the clue that the era of reckoning may be one connected with the religion to which the ceremony related. It leads us to assume that these dates are in the Mahāvīra Era which has been as much popular among the Jains as the Anno Domini among the Christians or the Anno Hegira among the Muslims. The M.E. is said to have started from October 15,527 BC, the date of nirvāņa or demise, the last memorable event in the life of Mahāvīra, the last of the twentyfour Tirtharkaras reverenced by the Jains.
1.
For a discussion of the date of Mahāvira's nirvana, see Jain, Dr. J.P.,
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