大般涅槃經義記 7.373

7.373

上來明為惡人唱滅，自下明為善人唱滅。於中明為七種善人故唱當滅，始從「迦葉乃至須那順跋陀羅，竟安居已至我所」者，過夏安居，案此如來秋中涅槃。《阿含經》中說佛八月八日涅槃與此相應，而此經中上下多說二月涅槃，當是見聞不同故爾。此釋德王第四難竟。

The above has clarified proclaiming extinction for the sake of evil persons; below, it clarifies proclaiming extinction for the sake of good persons. Therein, it clarifies that it was for the sake of seven kinds of good persons that he proclaimed he would enter extinction, starting from 'Kāśyapa and continuing up to Subhadra, who came to my dwelling after completing the retreat'; having passed the summer retreat, according to this, the Tathāgata entered nirvāṇa in the middle of autumn. That the Āgama sūtras state that the Buddha entered nirvāṇa on the eighth day of the eighth month corresponds with this; yet in the present sūtra, throughout it mostly states that he entered nirvāṇa in the second month; this must be because what was seen and heard differed. This concludes the explanation of King of Virtue's fourth challenge.