KATHMANDU, May 8: Noted historian Prof Dinesh Raj Panta has claimed that Buddha had attained Nirvana 188 years before the currently believed date.

According to him, Buddha is believed born in 567 years before the Bikram Sambat but going by the Kala Chakra scripture copied in 1320 Bikram Sambat and the annotation of the Hebajraprakash scripture copied in 1329 BS, the Buddha was born 755 years before the Bikram Sambat.

"At present we are following the t***tion which says Buddha was born 487 years before the Bikram Sambat year. But if we calculate the time when the Buddha started propagating and the time he attained Nirvana as per the Kalachakra scriptures, it comes that Buddha was born 675 years before BS which is 188 years before the t***tion currently in use.

He said as per the annotation of the Kalachakra scripture which is in Maithili script and the annotation of the Hebajraprakash scripture which is in Bhujimol script, Buddha attained Nirvana 487 years before BS.

"All this shows that there are different opinions regarding the year in which the Buddha attained Nirvana. It is well-known fact that the Buddha attained Nirvana at the age of 80 years," Panta said.

Historian Panta who is the author of the treatise "From the Buddha to Pahalman" also said that there are different opinions regarding the month and the day of the Buddha´s birth.

He says as per the currently held belief, Buddha attained Nirvana on the full moon day of the month of Baisakh which is also supported by the Kalachakra scripture copied in 1320 BS.

However, the Hebajraprakash scripture copied in 1329 BS does not support this view. According to this scripture, Buddha attained Nirvana on the eighth day of the waxing moon in the month of Baisakh.

On the other hand, it is stated in the first calendar published in Nepal and printed in 1941 BS that the Buddha attained enlightenment on the tenth day of the new moon in the month of Kattik. It is stated in this calendar that the Buddha incarnation occurred on that day.

Historian Panta says that it is also stated in some of the historical inscriptions and records written before the publication of the first calendar also mention the tenth day of the waning moon in the month of Kattik as the day of Buddha´s incarnation.

"Some of the calendars published after the first publication of the calendar mention the day of Buddha´s incarnation to be the tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Aswin. A few of the calendars published during that time also mentioned the tenth day of the waning moon of the month of Kattik as Buddha Jayanti day. But none of the calendars of that time have mentioned anything related to the Buddha´s life to have taken place on the tenth day of the full moon period of the month of Baisakh," Panta said.

Historian Panta said he had also raised this controversy regarding the important dates in the life of the Buddha at the international seminar held in Lumbini some 30 years back.

He stressed that the related bodies including the Ministry of Culture and State Restructuring and the Lumbini Development Trust to commission detailed research on important dates related to the Buddha´s life like his birth, attainment of Nirvana and settle the existing confusions regarding these dates. 

Article Source: www.myrepublica.com  

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