By Dr Manish Pandit
The full Moon under which Gautam Buddha got Nirvana was not the same as the one we see in the sky today even though both are Vaishakha Purnimas by definition.
That in 26/3/1807BCE was Moon in Swati Nakshatra (balance) in Tula, not Moon in Anuradha in Vrischika in Debilitation.
Let’s check how that Purnima would have looked like:

This subtle difference is not evident unless someone actually looks at which Nakshatra the Moon occupies, using proper software like Redshift or Cybersky. The Vaishakha Purnimas occurring in Vishakha and Anuradha in Scorpio are too intense in energy as compared to the one which would occur in Swati, Swati Nakshatra is considered one of the best Nakshatras in the Hindu tradition for acquisition of balance (it occupies the middle of Tula or Libra) which is so important in the path of spirituality.