The Religions of India c19.57

c19.57

tive, but they give the time nearly enough to serve as a guide. From the Buddhists (Ceylon account) it is known that the Council at Vāiçālī was held one hundred years after Buddha’s death (one hundred and eighteen years before the coronation of Açoka, whose grandfather, Candragupta, was Alexander’s contemporary). The interval between Nirvāṇa and Açoka, two hundred and eighteen years, is the only certain date according to Köppen, p. 208, and despite much argument since he wrote, the remark still holds.