Nagarjuna (philosopher)

Nagarjuna (philosopher) Biography

Nagarjuna was one of the important Buddhist philosophers after Buddha. He, along with his disciple Aryadeva founded Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism. He has also developed the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita Sutras and has written several treatises on rasayana alchemy. He has also served as the head of famous Nalanda University. Very little is known about his life and the records available now are written in Chinese and Tibetan, centuries after his death.

As per a few accounts, Nagarjuna was a south Indian. Some scholars believe that he was an advisor to a king Yajna Sri Satakarni of the Satavahana Dynasty, who lived during the period - 167 and 196 CE. So scholars have safely placed his life period at around 150–250 CE. According to an old biography of 4^th or 5^th century, Nagarjuna was born as a Brahmin, who later accepted Buddhism. Some sources claim that Nāgārjuna lived on the mountain of Sriparvata in his later years, which at present belongs to Nalgonda/ Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Many of his works have been lost and not recovered yet. The major works written by Nagarjuna are Mulamadhyamaka-karika, Suhrllekha, Pratityasamutpadahrdayakarika, Sutrasamuccaya, Vigrahavyavartani, Bodhicittavivaraṇa, Vaidalyaprakarana, Vyavaharasiddhi, Yuktisastika, Bodhisambhara, Catuhstava and Ratnavali. Apart from these works, many works related to Buddhism are attributed to Nagarjuna and his disciples. Through his works, it is pretty clear that Nagarjuna was conversant with Sravaka philosophies and Mahayana tradition.

His major contribution to Buddhist philosophy is in the use of the concept of sunyata, or "emptiness”. he is an iconic figure in the history of Mahayana Buddhism. He was also instrumental in the development of the two-truths doctrine. The idea of relativity is another contribution and according to some evidences, he practised Ayurveda also.

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Updated: March 12, 2014