Page:Report of a Tour Through the Bengal Provinces of Patna, Gaya, Mongir and Bhagalpur; The Santal Parganas, Manbhum, Singhbhum and Birbhum; Bankura, Raniganj, Bardwan and Hughli in 1872-73.djvu/27

Rh This king removed the capital from Râjagriha to Vaisáli (Bigandet, page 363),—

His successor Kálasoka is said to have removed the capital to Pâṭaliputra.

From Turnour, page xxix, it appears that for some time at least, if not the entire of Kálasoka’s reign, the capital continued to be Vaisâli. Be this as it may, it is certain that the nine Nandas reigned in Pâṭaliputra, and that it continued to be the capital of Magadha for a long but hitherto undetermined period.

In Barmah it appears that two different eras existed besides the religious era dating from Buddha’s nirvâna. One lasted 1,362 years, the last year of that era being equivalent to A. D. 1156; the other consisted of two eras succeeding and, as it were, replacing each other. The latter of the two is still in use. It began, according to Bishop Bigandet, in 639 A. D.; previous to it, another era had lasted 562 years, but as two years of these two eras overlap, that era may be considered to have virtually lasted only 560 years, making it begin in A. D. 79, and corresponding to the Indian Saka era.

This era was established in the religious year 625, or, deducting the two overlapping years, in the religious year 623, which therefore must correspond with A. D. 79. Hence year 1 A. D.=545th year of the religious era, and year 1 B. C.=544th of the religious era. Consequently the nirvâna of Buddha took place by this calculation in B. C. 544.

Comparing the Ceylon and the Barmese versions, and adopting as correct the Ceylon version of Ajâtasatru having reigned 32 years, instead of the palpably erroneous number 35 of the Barmese account, we find that as Ajâtasatru ascended the throne in the 37th year of Buddha’s ministry, i. e., eight years before his nirvân, and consequently in the year 140 of the Eetzana (Anjana) era, and he died in the year 25 of the religious era, it is clear that the total number of years of his reign can be 32, only on the supposition that the 148th year of the Anjana (Eetzana) era corresponds to the year 1 of the religious era, i. e., that there was no year 0 of the religious era.

Bishop Bigandet has B. C. 543 as the year of Buddha’s nirvâna, but as there was no year 0 A. D., I do not see