Originally Posted by
DrRajpalSingh
Some interesting discussion on the Chronology of the date of Chandragupta"s accession to sovereignty is presented here to solicit the critical views of the fellow readers and the Jatlanders:
The chief source of the Jaina traditions regarding Chandragupta and Chankya is known as Sthaaviravli-charita or Parisitaparvan written by Hemchandra as an Appendix to the larger work of the same author known as Trishashti-Sulukapurushacharita dealing with the lives of 63 great personages....Hemachandra’s source of the Chankya-Chandragupta-Katha embodied in versses 194-376 of Canto VIII of Parisishtaparvan is the Churni and Tika on Avasyaka-Niryukti. The Tika was that written by Haribhadra. In addition to alluding to several factors regarding Chandragupta Maurya , the Jain tradition gives a vluable information about his accession to sovereingnty. This point has been discussed by Jacobi in his Introduction (pp.xx-xxi).
In his Parisishtapravan, VIII. 339, Hemchandra states that “155 years after the nirvana of Mahavira, Chandragupta became king (nirpa).
This date is not accepted by Merutunga as being contradicted in his opinion by all other sources (Vicharasreni, Memorial , Verses 1-3 ). But it is not true.
It is accepted by Bhadresvara who, in his Kahavali, states : “And thus, on the extinction (uchechhinna) of the Nanda dynasty, and 155 years after the nirvana of Mahavira, Chandragupta became King (raya)”.
Jacobi states: “the date 155 AV for Chandragupta’s accession to the throne cannot be far wrong, since the Buddhists place that event in 162 AB. If we assume the earliest possible date, 322 B.C., as the beginning of Chandragupta’s reign, the corrected date of Buddha’s death comes out to be 484 B.C. and that of Mahavira 477 B.C. This result is at variance with a notice in several Buddhist cannonical works” to the effect that Mahavira had pre-deceased Buddha.
In the Samgiti-Suttanta, Sariputra states: “The Niganttha Nattaputa, friends, has just (adhuna) died at Pava.”
In the Pasadi-Suttanata , it was Chunda who delivers the news of the death to Ananda at Samagama in the Malla country. At this news, Ananda exclaimed : “Friend Chunda, this is a worthy subject to bring before the Exalted One.” (Dialogues of the Buddha, III).
In view of these facts, Dr. R. K. Mukerji (Chandragupta Maurya and his Times, 234) states that , thereshould be no objection to the revised dates for the Nirvana of both Buddha and Mahavira at 484 and 477 B.C. respectively, especially as these lead to the acceptable date of 322 B.C., for Chandragupta Maurya’s accession to sovereignty.
For the other view, a reference may be made to Dr. Radha Kumud Banerji’s Hindu Civilisation, p.230"
N.B. For this write up Dr. RK Mukerji is duly acknowledged. The data from inscriptions and numismatic sources would follow in next article.