Contemporaneity and Chronology of Mahavira and Buddha

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

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CHAPTER II
VIEWS OF FOREIGN SCHOLARS
We shall first take up the views of Dr. H. Jacobi. Dr. Jacobi's First Approach
It was late Dr. Hermann Jacobi, who first took the lead in making a significant effort in this direction. Dr. Jacobi had added greatly to his credit by having translated four of the Jain canons viz. The Ācārānga Sūtra, the Kalpa Sūtra, the Sūtrakrtānga Sūtra and the Uttarādlıyayana Sūtra. These translations wese published in two volumes in the Sacred Books of the East Series”, edited by Max Müller, an outstanding scholar of oriental learning. Besides this, Dr. Jacobi has also rendered other valuable services to Jainism. We owe the credit to him for having brought Lord Pārśva Nātha, the 23rd Tirtharikara in the category of historical personalities. The fallacy prevalent in the field of history that Jainism was nothing but a branch of Buddhism, was also disembroiled mainly by Dr. Jacobit. He also visited India twice in order to be able to get first
2.
1. Although Dr. Jarl Charpentier first dealt with the subject specially
with a view to decide the chronology of Buddha and Mahavira, but Dr. Jacobi is responsible for the primary research in this field. There are 50 volumes in this series, out of these the Vol. XXII contains the translations of the Acērāniga Sätra and the Kalpa Sutra, and the Vol. XLV contains the translations of the
Satrakrtānga Sutra and the U.taradhyayana Sutra. 3. Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XLV, Introduction to the Jain
Sūtras Part II p. XXI, 1894. 4. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XXII, Introduction to the Jain
Sūtras Part I, pp. IX to XIX, 1884.