________________
Life of Lord Mahāvīra
81
The greatest defect of some of the above theories is that their advocates, H. JACOBI, J. CHARPENTIER, J. HASTING and A.L. BASHAM, based them on the statement of Hemachandra (12th Century A.D.). Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne in M.E. (Mahāvīra era) 155. His statement is the solitary instance of this view and is at variance with all other Jaina sources, Digambara or Svetāmbara, earlier or later than himself, that give this date as M.E. 210 or 215. This caused confusion and has misled these scholars. The Tiloyapannati of Yativsishabha (5th century A.D.), the Harivañía of Jinasena (783 A.D.), Trilokasāra of Nemichandra (973 A.D.), Vichāraśreņi of Merutunga (1306 A.D.) and others mention 215 years.
That Palaka mentioned in the lists was the son of King Chanda Pradyota of Ujjayini and that during the period of 60 years allowed to Kūņika and Udāyi he was ruling at Pāțaliputra, are facts corroborated by some other sources. In connection with these dynastic chronologies, it may, however, be noted that it is not correct to treat them as referring to the kings of Magadha. All kings and dynasties mentioned in them are definitely known to be connected with Ujjayini in Malwa or Western India. Of course, some of them ruled over a big empire covering other parts of India, including Magadha as
well.
Curiously enough, even Hemachandra? in another context of the same work has admitted that the Nanda dynasty began in M.E. 60 and in another work of his he gives the traditional date 527 B.C. when he mentions that Kumārapāla became a ruler 1669 years after Mahāvīra's Nirvana. The year of Kumārapala's accession to the throne is known to be 1143 A.D.
Another serious desect of these theories is that their advocates attempted to determine the date of Vsahāvīra's Nircana on the basis of that of the Buddha's which itself is full of controversy. That has resulted in divergent conclusions. H. Jaconi and J. CHARPENTIER believed ile date of sahāvīra's
1. Pari, VI, 243. 2. Tri. P:l. Ch, X, 12, 15-16.
