History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s6.38

c12.s6.38

Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri³ has identified the war of the *Nirayāvalikā Sūtra* with that referred to in the Pāli scriptures as having taken place soon after the Buddha’s death. The account of the preparations for this war is to be found in the *Mahāparinibbāna Sutta*, and that of the war itself in Buddhaghosa’s commentary thereon. Much of the story is therefore contained in a comparatively late source, but it must be remembered that Buddhaghosa was himself a Magadhan, and may have had access to trustworthy records or traditions about the earlier history of his own country.