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Inscriptions Discovered by General A. Cunningham
We have carefully examined the new inscription discovered by General A.
Cunningham on the strength of which the date assigned to Buddha's death
by Buddhist writers has been declared to be incorrect; and we are of
opinion that the said inscription confirms the truth of the Buddhist
traditions instead of proving them to be erroneous. The above-mentioned
archeologist writes as follows regarding the inscription under
consideration in the first volume of his reports:--"The most interesting
inscription (at Gaya) is a long and perfect one dated in the era of the
Nirvana or death of Buddha. I read the date as follows:--Bhagavati
Parinirvritte Samvat 1819 Karttike badi I Budhi--that is, 'in the year
1819 of the Emancipation of Bhagavata on Wednesday, the first day of the
waning moon of Kartik.' If the era here used is the same as that of the
Buddhists of Ceylon and Burmah, which began in 543 B.C., the date of
this inscription will be 1819--543 = A.D. 1276. The style of the
letters is in keeping with this date, but is quite incompatible with
that derivable from the Chinese date of the era.
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