Art and Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik | Is Buddha a historical or a mythological figure?

When did the Buddha really live? 

The Buddha’s biography was documented for the first time 500 to 700 years after the period in which he may, or may not, have lived. The date of the Buddha is estimated based on the number of years between his death and the coronation of Ashoka. 

However, there is no consensus – some say it was 200 years before Ashoka’s time, others say 300. If one broadens the search to include various chronicles from East Asia, South East Asia, and South Asia, one finds nearly 40 different methods of calculating the Buddha’s age, with no agreement.

The story of the Buddha comes from Sanskrit works such as the Buddhacharita, Lalitavistara, and treatises by Nagarjuna, as well as various Jataka tales. None of these are contemporary to the Buddha, and the stories themselves presuppose the existence of other Buddhas who lived before him. 

So the Buddha’s story, in essence, acknowledges previous Buddhas – much like the Jain narrative of Tirthankaras. In Jainism, there are five major events that play a central role in the life of every Tirthankara, which follow a repetitive pattern: conception, birth, renunciation, awakening, and finally, departure or death.

In much the same way, the stories of the Buddhas – depending on which text one reads – speak of anywhere between 7 and 28 Buddhas. One hears the familiar sequence: conception, birth, renunciation, awakening, followed by death (Parinirvana) – a recurring motif.

Buddha’s conception and marital life

The details vary depending on the source. In some texts, the Buddha’s conception happens immaculately when a celestial elephant enters his mother’s womb in a dream. When this story was translated by the Chinese, Confucian ethos preferred to imagine the Buddha riding into the womb on an elephant. 

The stories also tell of how the Buddha stayed in the womb without touching the “impure” female body, meditating in a jewelled casket and giving discourses to gods. He is said to have finally emerged from the right side of the queen as she held onto a branch in the Lumbini Grove. 

Today, we simply assume that the Buddha was born in Lumbini Grove, but the older texts do not mention this place. It was established as the Buddha’s birthplace during Ashoka’s reign, and it was Ashoka who made Lumbini significant – not the other way around.

Was the Buddha a married man? Or were the stories of his marriage and fatherhood added later? Depending on which scripture one reads, the Buddha had one wife, two wives, three wives, or multiple wives. In some stories, the child is born on the night of his departure from the palace; in others, the child is born the day he attains awakening and becomes the Buddha. 

These variations have even led to accusations of infidelity in certain versions, with tales of Yashodhara undergoing trials and facing the judgement – both supportive and hostile – of the Buddha’s other wives. And then there is the story of Parinirvana, the Buddha’s death.

Is the present narrative of Buddha a 19th-century construction?

These stories vary across Japanese, Chinese, and Korean traditions. British Orientalists, believing the Pali Canon to be the original canon, stripped the stories of supernatural elements. For example, in the story of the Buddha’s battle with Mara before his enlightenment, the very term enlightenment was carefully chosen to align with the European Age of Enlightenment.

Today, we know the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are in Gandhari Prakrit, dating from around 1st century BCE to 1st century CE. These ancient manuscripts do not mention the Four Noble Truths, but mention many such truths. 

According to the Theravada tradition, the Pali Canon was first written down in Sri Lanka around 1st century BCE during the reign of King Vaṭṭagāmaṇi Abhaya. However, its present form (the shape we recognise today) consolidated over the next several centuries through commentarial work of scholars, especially that of Buddhaghosa in the 5th century CE.

In truth, the entire narrative we hold in our minds about the Buddha is a 19th-century construction. It was the British who divided Indian religious traditions by referring to the Buddha as a historical figure, while classifying Rama and Krishna as mythological.

We must remind ourselves: history does not necessarily tell us the truth, and mythology does not necessarily tell us falsehoods. History and mythology are simply two different lenses through which we understand the past – one grounded in fact, the other in faith. Neither offers the complete truth.

Post read questions

“History does not necessarily tell the truth, and mythology does not necessarily tell falsehoods.” Discuss this statement in the context of the multiple narratives of the Buddha.

Discuss how cultural contexts and colonial interpretations shaped the construction of Buddhist history.

Compare Buddha’s story, which in essence acknowledges previous Buddhas, with the Jain narrative of Tirthankaras.

What were the major teachings of Gautama Buddha? Discuss its contemporary relevance.

(Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned mythologist who writes on art, culture and heritage.)

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