The Traditions Related to the Parinibbana of Sariputta

In the Nikayas and the Chinese Agamas it is a fixed tradition that Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the two great disciples of Sakyamuni, entered parinibbana earlier than their Teacher. But it is not clear how long before the Teacher's parinibbana this took place. For example, according to the Pali tradition, Sariputta actually appears in the Mahaparinibbanasuttanta; therefore it is necessary that Sariputta's death should have taken place on the way of Buddha's last journey from Rajagaha to Kusinara. But in one of the suttas of Samyuttanikaya Sakyamuni is informed of Sariputta's death when he stays in Savatthi, which he does not visit on his last journey. Although the commentator avoids this contradiction by assuming a lacuna in the description of the Mahaparinibbanasuttanta, we can hardly accept this idea. This paper intends to clarify the various intricate traditions related to the death of Sariputta found in the Pali scriptures and its commentaries as well as the Northern traditions i. e. those of Samyuktagama, Ekottaragama and Mulasarvastivadavinaya.