History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s6.83

c12.s6.83

In our opinion the synchronism of Gosāla's death with the war with the Vajjis is by far the most reliable of any indications of the date of the former event. Illiterate and semi-literate people all over the world retain accurate memories of the years of births and deaths by this naturally arising system of synchronism with important historical events, and there is far less danger of error in such a method than in the memory of the number of years elapsing between one event and another. Therefore we believe that the death of Gosāla occurred soon after the great war between Magadha and the Vajjis, and this war could not have taken place in 500 B.C., if we maintain the general accuracy of both Buddhist and Jaina traditions.