Contemporaneity and Chronology of Mahavira and Buddha

Author(s): Nagrajmuni, Mahendramuni
Publisher: Today and Tomorrows Book Agency

Page 11

Preface
sabha. The Acharya asked for my opinion on the subject. Meanwhile, the pressure of work at my hand decreased and I was able to devote some time to the writing of the present book.
Sri Banthia has expressed surprise that, in spite of much evidence, the Teräpanthi Sect continues to hold on to its particular opinion. As a matter of fact, it is not at all a question of sectarian belief. None of the fundamental principles or concepts of Terapantha will in any way be violated by accepting Mahāvīra's seniority to Buddha or vice versa. The view expressed by Muni Šri Nathamalji and me, that Māhavira was older than Buddha, was based on the Jaina and Buddhist traditions, while Muni Sri Nathamalji's theory as propounded in his work Jaina Darśana ke Maulika Tattva, that Buddha flourished forty years after Mahāvīra, was only an acceptance of someone else's conviction. However, the procedure followed in the present study has been that of unbiased investigation measured on the yardstick of pure historical facts.
The 2500th anniversary of the Mahāpariniry a of Lord Buddha, celebrated on the full moon in May 1956, was observed on the basis of chronology as described in the Ceylonese chronicle, Mahāvamsa. Though various schools of Buddhism have their different systems of chronology, yet they were in unison to celebrate the festival?. Interestingly enough, some sects consider the full moon day of the lunar month of Vaisākha to be the day of Buddha's birth, enlightenment and Nirvāņa, while others agree with regard to the day of Buddha's birth and enlightenment but differ from them regarding the day of Buddha's Nirvāņa. In their opinion, Buddha attained Nirvāņa on the full moon day of the lunar month of Kārtika. In spite of all these differences, almost all the Buddhist countries observed the 2500th anniversary of Buddha's Nirvāņa
1. Cf. 2500 Years of Buddhism, “Foreword” by Dr. Radhakrishnan, p. 1