Nirvan Dating of Tirthankar Mahavira Swami: The Anchor Point of History of India

While reading numerous books on history and religion by both Indian and Western authors, Pankaj K. Shah noticed that the nirvan (death year) dating of the 24th Jain Tirthankar ranged from 470 BCE to around 1300 BCE, despite all Jain sects believing in 527 BCE as the nirvan year of Mahavir. He also noted the Buddha Nirvan Dating Symposium organized by Prof. Heinz Bechert in 1985 in Gottingen, Germany, which was attended by over 100 scholars from around the world. Based on the extensive proceedings of this symposium, it was observed that the nirvan datings of Buddha and Mahavir were considered inseparable, with Mahavir’s nirvan being dependent on Buddha’s nirvan dating, as perceived by numerous scholars and historians.

To draw the attention of scholars once again and to address additional discerning views on Mahavir’s nirvan dating, Mr. Shah organized a symposium on the Nirvan Dating of Tirthankar Mahavir Swami in Pune, India, in 2022, with the support of the JAINA Academic Liaison Com-mittee and the Jain Center of Greater Boston.

About the Author:

PANKAJKUMAR K. SHAH holds Master of Science degrees in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, as well as an MBA from leading universities in the USA. He is a prominent international con-sultant specializing in the design of nuclear reactor vessels and other nuclear power plant components.

He has served as the Chairman of the Board and Jain Pathshala Director at the Jain Center of Greater Boston. Mr. Shah published one of the earliest groundbreaking books on Jain as-tronomy, “Bridging the Cosmos —Ancient Jain Scriptures Revealed Through Modern Astrono-my.”

In 2020, he organized the First International Symposium of Jainism and Mathematics and was one of the editors of the proceedings, which were published in 2022 under the title “Mathe-matics in Ancient Jain Literature.