Buddha
attained nirvana in 1864 BCE.
[Recent
excavations and research]
The
complex problems at Indian chronology arise for misunderstanding of the epochs
of ancient Indian eras. The Kurtakoti copperplate dated Saka 530 refers to a total
solar eclipse that occurred on 9th May 53 BCE in Karnataka which
conclusively establishes that the Saka era commenced in 583 BCE whereas the
Sakanta era commenced in 78 CE.
Historians
mistakenly mixed up these two epochs which led to a chronological set up of 660
years. Out of two contemporary copper plates found at Pranaveshvara temple,
Talagunda, one plate is dated in the Saka era whereas another is dated in the
Sakanta era.
Apart
from this error of 660 years, later Jain
historians inadvertently identified with Ujjain King Chandragupta, a disciple
of Bhadrabahu with the Maurya king Chandragupta which made Mahavira, a
contemporary of Buddha. In reality, Buddha attained Nirvana 675 years before
the year of Mahavira Nirvana. Puranas and the Burmese
inscriptions clearly indicate that
Buddha attained nirvana in 1864 BCE.
Recent excavations at Lumbini and the radiocarbon samples collected from the trench C-5 at the centre of the Buddhist shrine at Lumbini indicate and earliest date of 1681 BCE. Thus, there is a chronological error of 1380 years in dating of Buddha nirvana due to mixing up of two different epochs of Saka and Sakanta eras and the mistaken identification of Chandragupta, the disciple of Bhadrabahu. The dating of Buddha nirvana in 1864 BCE also validates the traditional date of Adi Shankaracharya in the 6th century BCE.
This entire research work of Vedveer Arya has been presented in two books. The chronology of India: from Manu to Mahabharata and chronology of India from Mahabharata to medieval era. If fully established, the change in date of Buddha nirvana may affects the entire world chronology, as the sheet anchors of western chronology have been “The origin of the Christian Era.” In fact, the European Christian scholars blindly assumed the epoch of 1A.D as the birth of Jesus Christ without presenting any independently verifiable evidence. Therefore , Ved Arya’s book claims that the epoch of Christian era does not deserve to be the sheet anchor of world chronology.
