Lord Mahavira and His Times

SR No.: 011080
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Kailashchandra Jain
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas
Publication Year: 1974
Total Pages: 427
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

Page 93

Life of Lord Mahāvīra
is said in the Kalpasūtral that when Mahāvīra died, the eighteen confederate kings of Kāśi and Košala, the nine Mallakss and the nine Lichchhavis instituted an illumination, saying "since the light of intelligence is gone, let us make an illumination of material matter."
There is a persistent Jaina tradition that Mahāvīra attained Nirvana in 527 B.C. but this seems to have become controversial by an incorrect statement of Hemachandra's (1078-1172 A.D.) to the effect that 155 years after the Nirvana of Mahāvira, Chandragupta became king. The whole problem was made more complicated and controversial by connecting it with Buddha's Nirvana, the date of which has not yet been fully and authoritatively ascertained.3 Scholars are therefore not unanimous about the date of the Nirvana of Mahāvīra as they still hold different views.
In order to solve this problem of the date of Mahāvira's Nirvana, one should take a comprehensive view. It is well known from the different sources that Mahāvīra flourished in the age of Sreņika (Bimbisāra) and Kūnika (Ajātaśatru) of Magadha, Prasenajit of Kośala, Udayana of Vatsa, Pradyota of Avanti and Pushkarasărin of Taxila. It is also certain that he lived in the days of Markhali Gośāla and Buddha. Mankhali Gośāla was his senior contemporary and died sixteen and a half years earlier, while Buddha was his junior contemporary and died afterwards. A Jaina tradition states that Mahavira attained Nirvana in the 16th year of the reign of Kūņika and the Buddhist tradition places the Buddha's Nirvāṇa in that king's Sth regnal year. The date of Mahāvíra's Nirvana is said to have coincided with the date of the coronation at Ujjayini of Palaka, the son of Chanda Pradyota, the king of Avanti. We can be successful in determining the date of Mahāvıra's
1. Kalp, 128. 2. Pari, VIII, 339.
The different Buddhist traditions place the date of the Buddha dific. rently: thc Ceylonesc in 514 B.C., the Burmese in 501 B.C.; the Tibetan in 4SS B.C. and the Cantonese in 486 B.C. (Somc scholars havc suggested even 477 B.C. or 453 B.C.) The recently advocated vicw is 483 B.C. Sce D.R. Bhandarlar Vol. I. p. 322-330.
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