Three different methods
of calculation were in use in India at the time when Buddha lived, and
they are still in use in different parts of the country. These methods
are known as Souramanam, Chandrarmanam and Barhaspatyamanam. According
to the Hindu works on astronomy a Souramanam year consists of 365 days
15 ghadias and 31 vighadias; a Chandramanam year has 360 days, and a
year on the basis of Barhaspatyamanam has 361 days and 11 ghadias
nearly. Such being the case, General Cunningham ought to have taken the
trouble of ascertaining before he made his calculation the particular
manam (measure) employed by the writers of Magadha and Ceylon in giving
the date of Buddha's death and the manam used in calculating the years
of the Buddhist era mentioned in the inscription above quoted. Instead
of placing himself in the position of the writer of the said inscription
and making the required calculation from that standpoint, he made the
calculation on the same basis of which an English gentleman of the
nineteenth century would calculate time according to his own calendar.
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