Book Title: Jain Legend Vol 1
Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

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Page 366
________________ born on the same day, as Buddha became emlightened. All historians unanimously accept this fact that at the time of enlightenment, Buddha was 35 years old. This means that Pradyot too became king of Avanti at the age of 35. Acording to the loka in V yupur a, Pradyot ruled for 23 years and after him, his son, P laka, became the king, and on that day, Mah v ra attained nirva. Thus strong evidence from San tana, Jain and Buddhist beliefs prove that on the day Mah v ra attained nirva at the age of 72, Pradhyota died at age of 58 and Buddha too was 58 years old on that day. With this it is proved that Buddha's year of birth was 14 years after the birth of Mah v ra and niry a 22 years after that of Mah v ra. According to va yakac r , when Mah v ra turned 28, his parents died. According to the authors of the cr, at the time of death of king Siddh rtha and Tri 1 Dev , Pradhyota was 14 years old. Accordingly, we prove the niry a year of Mah v ra as 527 BC. Mah v ra was born in 599 BC and Buddha was born in 585 BC. Combining all these facts together, we can conclude that Mah v ra attained nirva in 527 BC and Buddha, 22 years after that, in 505 BC. In A okan edicts, no. 256, which is considered indicative of Buddha's nirv a year, proves that Buddha's nirva took place in505 BC. Many scholars based on this number in the edict, believe that when these edicts composed, after 256 years of Buddha's nirva. According to historians. A oka was coronated king in 269 BC. Eight years after coronation, he gained victory over Kalimga, where, seeing the cruel human killing, he became disgusted with war and became a follower of Buddhism. On his part, he put all energy into propagation of Buddhism. As a result, Buddhism spread not only in India but also in many countries abroad, attaining the peaks of progress after he started issuing the edicts. In all these perhaps 10-12 years were spent, hence these edicts were commissioned in the 20th year of the coronation, 249 BC, when 256 years had passed after Buddha's nirva. According to this calculation, Buddha attained nirvain 505 BC and corresponds with reference in V yupur a to Pradyota's reign. Based on all these indisputable facts, we can say that Lord Mah v ra attained nirva in 527 BC and Buddha in 505 BC. 366

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