The Epoch of Buddha Nirvana — #SangamTalk By Vedveer Arya

The study of epigraphic and literary sources reveals that Buddha attained nirvana at least six centuries before the date of Mahavira nirvana but later Jain historians like Hemachandra mistakenly identified King Chandragupta of Ujjain, the disciple of Bhadrabahu with Chandragupta Maurya. This mistaken identification has not only contracted the date of Buddha nirvana by ~664 years but also made Buddha contemporary of Mahavira. The mix-up of two different epochs of the Saka and the Sakanta eras has also contracted Indian chronology by ~660 years.

According to Persian historians, Zoroaster flourished a few centuries after the date of Buddha but historians have fixed the date of Buddha after the lifetime of Zoroaster which is a serious anomaly in the modern chronology of world history. Moreover, historians have miserably failed to explain the so-called short chronology given in all traditions of Buddhism. The Burmese literary sources and inscriptions indicate the difference of ~1182 years between the epochs of the Theravada Buddhism and the Sakkaraj era. The Saka era (583 BCE) has been referred to as the Sakkaraj era in the Burmese sources but historians have concocted that the epoch of the Sakkaraj era and the epoch of the Burmese calendar (638 CE) are identical.

Eminent historians have fixed the date of Buddha nirvana around 483 BCE considering the contemporaneity of Buddha and Mahavira and the only epoch of the Saka era (78 CE) but the comprehensive study of Indian, Nepali, Sri Lankan, Burmese and Tibetan sources indicates that Buddha attained nirvana in 1865 BCE, the epoch of Jinachakka or Theravada Buddhism commenced in 1765 BCE. Thus, there is a serious chronological error of 1381 years in dating of Buddha nirvana


About Speaker: –

Vedveer Arya is a civil servant and a senior officer from Ministry of Defence. He is a Sanskrit scholar and a researcher with profound insights in the chronological history of India. He made in-depth study of various epigraphs in original and critiqued the chronology of India put forth by colonial, (View More)


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