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Mahavira and Buddha
Even today there is a mysterious uncertainty about their date of birth and death and the period of their mission. It is largely believed that they were contemporaries and that their field of action was the region of Bihar. But we have no information whether they ever met and what was the attitude of the one towards the other. The philosophy which permeated their teachings is fundamentally the same, yet it is impossible now to say whether one derived inspiration from the other or both of them drew from the same source. If both of them flourished in the same period and their thought had independent origin and growth, then there must have been certain features in the contemporary society which prompted both of them to raise their voice against the common evils. History has to supply answers to these and similar other questions which arise in the mind of an enquiring devotee of the Muse of History.
Muni Shri Nagarajji has presented a well-reasoned analysis of the problem of the contemporaneity of Mahavira and Buddha. He has critically examined the existing theories propounded by foreign and Indian scholars, and on the basis of the evidence contained in canonical literature of the Jains and Buddhists, has come to the conclusion that Mahavira was the senior of the two, who was born earlier, took to his mission earlier and attained the Nirvana earlier than Buddha. His dissertation is full of critical examination and interpretation of established literary evidence. He has drawn upon Jaina source liberally and these have a richness which make them highly valuable for students of history. I congratulate Muniji on his production which I am certain will provoke scientific study of the problem of chronology of social and cultural movements and unfold the sources of inspiration and the socio-economic and other factors which gave them birth. The book fills a gap and will fulfil a great purpose. The learned Muni has brought to bear his erudition, critical
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