Page:A Collection of Esoteric Writings.djvu/176

162 that Patanjali and his Chela Sankara belonged to the Sutra period. We may perhaps now venture to place before the public the exact date assigned to Shankaracharya by Tibetan and Indian Initiates. According to the historical information in their possession he was born in the year 510 (51 years and 2 months after the date of Buddha's nirvana), and we believe that satisfactory evidence in support of this date can be obtained in India if the inscriptions at Conjeveram, Sringeri, Jaggurnath, Benares, Cashmere and various other places visited by Sankara are properly deciphered. Sankara built Conjeveram, which is considered as one of the most ancient towns in SouthrenSouthern [sic] India; and it may be possible to ascertain the time of its construction if proper enquiries are made. But even the evidence now brought before the public supports the opinion of the initiates above indicated. As Goudpada was Shankaracharya's Guru's Guru his date entirely depends on Sankara's date; and there is every reason to suppose that he lived before Buddha. As this article has already become very legngthy we will now bring it to a close. Our remarks about Buddha's date and Shankaracharya's doctrine will appear hereafter.

AGE OF LORD BUDDHA'S DEATH.

.

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 tradition 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 report:—"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