A New Publication on the Date and Historiography of the Buddha's Decease (nirvāṉa): a Review Article

The three large volumes of Heinz Bechert (ed.) The dating of the historical Buddha (1991, 1992 and 1997) are concerned with establishing a more precise dating of the Buddha's decease-the (Mahāpari)Nirvāṇa-than has hitherto been available and with its historiography in different Buddhist traditions as well as in modern scholarship. Over the years there developed amongst scholars a sort of consensus that placed this event in about 480 B.C. The articles in this third volume set out to re-examine this dating (and some other current ones), and most contributors conclude that the Buddha's Nirvāṇa has to be brought forward by approximately a century, i.e. to a date perhaps about 100 years before Aśoka's accession to the throne. The articles on the historiography of the Nirvāṇa explore in addition the many uncertainties in the sources, and the difficulties with which the historian of early India has therefore to contend. They also review a number of historiographical traditions preserved outside India, in particular in East and Central Asia, concerning the Buddha's decease and his demise of the Teaching or Dharma.