Lord Buddha: A Timeline error of 1200 Years

The epic Mahabharata war signified that Dwapara yuga was going to end soon. On the 10^th day of the 18-day Mahabharata war, Bheeshma lay on a bed of arrows. After spending 58 such nights, Bheeshma gave up his life on uttarayana (the sun’s northward movement). Yudhishthira respectfully completed his last rites and then ruled the kingdom from Hastinapura for 36 years after the war. As per the Purana-s, the ensuing ascension of God Krishna and the flooding of Dwaraka marked the beginning of the dreaded age of Kaliyuga. Yudhishthira then handed the kingdom to Parikshita and retired to the forest with his wife and brothers.¹

Many ancient inscriptions and scriptures state that Kaliyuga started in 3101 BCE (Before Common Era). The detailed description is in a previous article. Thus, we can say that the epic Mahabharata war was fought towards the end of the Gregorian calendar year 3138 BCE.²

1. The Magadha dynasties of Kaliyuga as per Hindu scriptures

The Purana-s list the Pandava and Suryavanshi dynasty’s kings who ruled after the Mahabharata war. The third important dynasty was Magadha’s Brihadratha (Jarasandha’s ancestor) dynasty whose capital was Girivraja (in present-day Bihar).

During the Mahabharata war, Jarasandha’s son Magadha’s King Sahadeva, a Pandava ally, was killed. After him, his son Somaapi continued the Brihadratha dynasty from Girivraja. He and his lineage ruled for a total of 1,000 years. The chronology of Kaliyuga’s Magadha kings is listed in various Purana-s asunder:³

Matsya Purana states that the time between Parikshit’s birth and Nanda was 1,500 years.⁴ The calculation of 3137-1500=1637gives a minor difference of 2 years.

2. Maurya dynasty in Hindu texts

The Shishunaga dynasty’s last king was Mahanadi whose son with a daasi woman was named Nanda. This cruel Nanda was a reincarnation of the Asura Kali. He eliminated his step-brothers and forcefully became the king. Nanda then exterminated many Hindu Kshatriya-s. No king dared to disobey his command. Nanda looted and amassed immense wealth for which he was also called Mahapadma. He ruled for 88 years and had thousands of sons. His 8 sons, including Sumalya, ruled Magadha for another 12 years.

Then, a Brahmana named Kautilya trained a youthful Chandragupta Maurya who killed the Nanda-s. He became the king and made Kautilya (Chanakya) his Prime Minister. After Chandragupta ruled for 24 years, his son Bindusara succeeded him and reigned for 25 years. His son Ashoka ruled for 36 years after consecration.⁵

Thus, as per the Purana-sand Inscriptions, Chandragupta Maurya ruled from the year 1539 BCE. This is contrary to a largely mistaken correlation of Chandragupta Maurya with Alexander’s failed invasion of the Indian subcontinent in the year 326 BCE. As per Greek sources, Alexander’s contemporary was Sandrocottus who is generally translated as Chandragupta. This Chandragupta is not Chandragupta Maurya. This difference is important to address as it decides much of the subsequent chronology. For example, due to this false correlation, Lord Buddha’s birth and nirvana year have also been incorrect.

3. Maurya dynasty as per Buddhist texts

The Buddhist texts have a similar narration of the Maurya-s. Mahavamsa, an important Buddhist text states that a Brahmana named Chanakya was filled with bitterness. He anointed a glorious youth named Chandragupta from the noble Maurya clan. He killed the 9^th Nanda, Dhanananda to become the king of Magadha and the entire Jambudwipa. After Chandragupta, his son Bindusara became the king. He had 100 sons of whom Sumana was the eldest. But one of Bindusara’s other sons, Ashoka had more valour and might. There is a minor discrepancy compared to the Puranic numbers. Mahavamsa says Chandragupta ruled for 24 years and Bindusara for 28.⁶

All Purana-s are consistent that the 9 Maurya kings ruled for 137 years. But Vayu Purana which lists their individual reigns, gives a total of 133 years. This 4 years difference is cleared by Buddhist texts which state that Ashoka’s formal coronation was held at Pataliputra 4 years after he had killed his 99 step-brothers.⁷

This means Ashoka’s formal consecration was in the year 1486 BCE (1539-24-25-4=1486). So, now we can tabulate the Maurya dynasty’s reigns.

4. Lord Buddha as per Buddhist texts

At present, there are too many diverse estimations about the date of Lord Buddha, spread across the 10^th to the 5^th century BCE timespan. But we can correlate our Hindu and Buddhist scriptures to give us the exact year.

Mahavamsa states that Ashoka’s coronation was 218 years after Lord Buddha’s nirvana.⁸

This means Lord Buddha’s nirvana occurred in the year 1704 BCE (1486+218=1704).This also means that Lord Buddha’s nirvana date was about 1,200 years before the current popular estimates, and there is additional evidence too.

As per Kalhana’s epic Rajatarangini, Kashmira’s King Gonanda III’s rule started in 1182 BCE. Before him, previous Kashmira kings are described:⁹

• Surendra protected gotra-s and built vihara-s also
• Janaka gave grants to Brahmana-s and constructed a vihara too
• Ashoka (Shakuni’s lineage) made many stupas and a tall chaitya, and temples
• Jalauka’s Guruwas an Avadhoota who defeated the Bauddha controversialists in debates. Jalauka later erected a vihara as directed by Bodhisattva-s
• Then, the powerful Turushka (Turkic) brothers Hushka, Jushka, and Kanishka ruled Kashmira, around 150 years after Shakyasimha’s death. Shakyasimha preached 100 years after Lord Buddha. During their reign, they built many matha-s and chaitya-s, and Buddhism flourished in Kashmira
• Later, during the reign of King Abhimanyu,a Bodhisattva named Nagarjuna dominated the region. The rituals prescribed in Neela (mata) Purana were stopped and there was tumult
• With the help of Brahmana-s, Gonanda III became the king of Kashmira in 1182 BCE and restored Hinduism

This proves that Lord Buddha’s nirvana was before the 12^th century BCE, and our date of 1704 BCE stands true in other references too.

References

1. Mahabharata 13.167, 15.1, 16.1; Bhagavata Purana 1.9, 1.18.6; Vishnu Purana 5.38.8; Brahma Purana 2.103.8-10
2. ChalukyaKingPulakeshi’sAiholeInscription;Kalidasa’sJyotirvidhabharana10.111 and 22.21; ‘Orissa’s palm-leaf chronicles of Jagannath Appendix VII’ by WW Hunter; Persian Historian Alberuni’s ‘India’ chapter 49; Skanda Purana 1.2.40.252-254; Varahamihira Brihat-samhita 13.3-4; Mahabhaskariyam 1.4-6; Laghu Bhaskariyam 1.4-8; Shishyadhivriddhida Tantra 1.12-14; Siddhanta Shiromani1.28
3. Bhagavata Purana 12.1; Brahmanda Purana 2.3.74.107-171; Matsya Purana chapters 271-273; Vayu Purana 2.37.289-352; Vishnu Purana 4.23-24; Garuda Purana chapter141
4. Matsya Purana 273.36-37
5. Vayu Purana 2.37.320-324; Brahmanda Purana2.3.74.144-145; Katha Sarit Sagara 1.5
6. 14-19
7. 18-24
8. 21
9. Kalhana’s Raja-taranggini1.91-188, Appendix ‘List ofkings’; Arya Manjushree Mula-kalpa 4.353-395

Feature Image Credit: istockphoto.com

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author. Indic Today is neither responsible nor liable for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in the article.