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( 267 ) the Northern Indian traditions place it at a very early datetip danningham 15 refers to some of them. In the time of Hwena Thasadg. A. D. 680-645, the Buddhist schools held widely different opinione, varying from 900 and 1000 years up to 1200. 1300 and even 1600 years prior to that datelo, which would place the Nibbana of the Buddha either in 250, or 350, or 550, or 650 and 850 B. C. The same extravagant antitquity was. also asserts in the time of Fa-Hian, who places the Nibbina during the feiga of Ping-Wang, Emperar of China, in B. C.. 770.71921. A similar antiquity was still claimed as late as the Twelth Century A. D. during the reign of Asoka Balla Deva. Two of his inscriptions are dated in the years 51 and 74 of the Lakşmana Sena era, or in A.D. 1159 and 1180. A third inscription, which is dated in the year 1813 after the Nibbāna. of Buddha shows that at that time, Nibbana was believed tohave occured between about 656 to 633 B. C.
But all the traditional views, except the traditions of Ceylon and Burma, do not have sufficiently strong evidances in their support. According to the Mahāvamsa, Parākramabāhu. I was crowned when 1696 years had el ipsed since the Buddha's. death, that is, in the year 1697 A. B. The Ceylɔnese era falls. this year 1153 A. D.22 This is supported by an independant source, viz. a South Indian Insription at the Temple of Tiruvalisvara in Arpakkama According to the Cūlavamsa, 56.16 foll., the predecessors of Paräkramabābu, from Parak rama Pandu onwards, reigned 107 years. Thus the accession of the last-named prince falls at 1590 A. D. Moreover, this date is confirmed by the South Indian Minimangalam inscription, which is dated the same year23 All this shows that for the second half of the twelfth century the existence of the Ceylon era, reckoned from 544; is established with certainty.
In support of this view, we can now put forward another evidence. An inscription has been recently discovered near Arruradhapura in Ceylon which detineates the various kinds. of donations made by king Upatissa 1, the elder brother andı
