Contemporaneity and Chronology of Mahavira and Buddha

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

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Mahavira and Buddha
staunch follower of Mahavira1. The Buddhist Tripitakas do not even mention the name of Ceṭaka, though they bear a long description of the Vajjis". Dr. Jacobi, himself, has observed that the reason of taciturnity of the Buddhist canonical texts about Ceṭaka is that Buddha's rival (i.e. Mahāvīra) was benefited by the great influence of Ceṭaka and that the Jains give respect to Ceṭaka, the maternal uncle of Mahavira, because Vaiśāli became a strong supporter of Jainism on account of Ceṭaka, whereas the Buddhists call it (Vaiśāli) a 'monastery of heretics, Hence, if, according to Dr. Jacobi, the Jain Agamas bear more extensive account of the events concerning Konika and Ceṭaka than the Buddhist Tripitakas, its natural and consistent reason is that they (Konika and Cetaka) were eminent disciples of Mahāvīra and Jain religion and 'heretics' in the view of Buddha and not, as Dr. Jacobi has inferred, that Mahavira survived Buddha. Dr. Jacobi's inference is based only on misunderstanding and misinterpretation, for we find that the Buddhist Tripitakas are replete with many such brilliant and candid descriptions, which show that Mahavira predeceased Buddha, while the Jain Agamas say nothing about Buddha's Nirvāņa.
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In the light of the aforesaid discussion, the true inference should have been that Mahavira attained the Nirvana before Buddha and Buddha later than Mahāvīra, for the Jain scriptures maintain no record of Buddha's Nirvana and the Buddhist scriptures distinctly state that Mahāvīra died earlier than Buddha. The greatest flaw in
1. Ibid, uttarardha, leaf 164; Triṣaṣṭiśalakāpuruşa Caritra of HemaCandracārya, parva, X, cantos VI, v. 188; Upadeśamāla, (with commentary) leaf 238; Uttarapurāṇa, p. 483.
2. Digha Nikaya, Mahā-Pārinivvāṇa Sutta. 3. S.B.E., (Vol. XXII, Introduction, p. XIII.