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HOERNLE: GOSALA MANKHALIPUTTA
105
Similarly Gosāla spent 24 years of his life in monk-hood, viz., 8 in the preliminary and 16 in the perfect state; and further, out of the 8 years of monk-hood in the preliminary state, Gosāla spent 6 in the company of Mahavira, and 2 by himself. Again out of the 12 years of monk-hood in the preliminary state, Mahavira spent upwards of one year as a clothed monk; but in the second year he became a naked monk (Kap. § 117). The latter year coincides with that in which Mahāvīra, according to the Bhagavati, met Gosāla and attracted him as his (apparently, first) disciple. Of the remaining 10 years he spent 6 with Gosāla. Accordingly after having separated from Gosāla, Mahavira lived for 4 years longer in his preliminary monk-hood. On the other hand, seeing that Gosāla attained Jina-hood within 2 years after his separation from Mahavira, if follows that at the time Mahavira became a Kevalin or Jina, Gosala had already been a Jina for 2 years. This priority of Gosala in regard to Jina-hood, before Mahāvīra is a noteworthy point. As Gosala had originally been a disciple of Mahāvira, it naturally enough explains the intense hostility, towards him, of Mahāvīra, who resented the presumption of the disciple in taking precedence of his master. It is evident from the tenor of the account in the Bhagavati, that Mahāvira and Gosāla never met but once, after the separation; and that was in the town of Sāvatthi at the time of the fatal encounter. As Savatthi was the head-quarters of Gosala, it is clear that Mahavira can have visited that town but once in his life as a monk, otherwise he could not have avoided meeting Gosala much oftener. Now this is borne out by the express statement in the Kalpasūtra (§ 122) that Mahavira spent but one rainy season in Savatthi. During that rainy season the fatal encounter must have taken place. At that time Mahavira had been 14 years a Jina, while Gosāla had been so 16 years: and the event took place in the 56th year of Mahavira's life (for 30+ 12 + 14 = 56). If we accept the year 467 B.C. (see Jacobi's Kalpasūtra, Introd., p.9) as the date of Mahavira's death, his visit to Savatthi and the death of Gosala will fall in 483 B.C. The only discrepancy between the accounts of the Bhagavati and the Kalpasūtra is, that according to the former Mahavira spent 6 years in Paniyabhumi (in the company of Gosāla), while the latter gives him only one year in that place, but 6 years in Mithila. Of this difficulty I am, at present, unable to offer any satisfactory solution.
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