LIFE AND WORKS OF NAGARJUNA Life of Acharya Nagarjuna: There have been various findings on the exact date

of the well known Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna. Earlier texts claim that Nagarjuna was born 400-500 years after the Buddhas Mahaparinirvana. This means Nagarjuna should belong to 2nd to 1st B.C. Western scholars have put the dates 2 nd 3rd A.D. Max Muller also quotes the same dates. Buston works out the birth years 2nd -1st B.C. Whatever the confusion over the period of Nagarjunas date of birth, one thing is conclusively proved that this great Buddhist scholar born in Southern India had a great friend in King Satavahana. The Satavahana line of Andhra, the king, Gautamiputra Satakarni, son of queen Balashri, was the only one of his line to embrace Buddhism, and it was for him that Acharya Nagarjuna wrote The Good Hearted Letter (Suhalekha) and The Jewel Garland (Ratnavali). That the king in question reigned at about the time indicated is certain from the evidence of present archaeological discoveries. The traditional biographers agree that the Nagarjuna was born in a Brahmin family of South India. The Tibetan accounts state that at his birth, astrologers prophesied that the child would not live beyond the age of seven. Unable to bear the sight of his premature death, the accounts tell us, his parents sent the boy to a Buddhist monastery, whereby reciting the Aparamitayudharani, he succeeded in escaping his fate. The account given by Kumarajiva of Acharya Nagarjunas early life differ substantially from that of the Tibetan biographers. Kumarajiva writes that in his youth Acharya Nagarjuna was

overcome with lust and through the art of invisibility seduced women in the royal palace. Once, however, he narrowly escaped death at the hands of the guards, an experience which led him to dwell upon the Buddha's teaching that desire is the foremost cause of suffering. As a result, according to Kumarajiva, the Acharya entered the Buddhist Order. Thereafter, the Tibetan accounts state, Nagarjuna became a student of Rahulabhadra who was then the abbot of the great university at Nalanda. Virtually all the traditional biographers agree that Acharya Nagarjuna procured some Pradnyaparamita Sutras from the world of the Nagas. Finally, Acharya Nagarjuna seems to have spent the latter part of his life at the monastery built for him by his friend and patron, King Gautamiputra at Shriparvata. Although the accounts given of the manner of the Acharyas death differ with regard to detail, they agree in that Nagarjuna consented to his own death at the hands of the son of King Gautamiputra. Works of Acharya Nagarjuna: Acharya Nagarjuna was an accomplished master of Buddhist doctrine. He wrote voluminously on almost every aspect of Buddhist philosophy and religion. Although Acharya Nagarjuna has rightly won widespread acclaim as the foremost exponent of the 'middle way', or Madhyamapratipada, and as a master of dialectic, his writings also include works on Vinaya, on Tantra, on the career of the Bodhisattva, and on the practice of the Paramitayana. Among the latter are counted the Sutrasamuccaya and others. Acharya

Nagarjuna also wrote works of a highly devotional character, such as the Catuhastava. Nagarjuna ushered a revolution in Buddhism, in its philosophy, religion and spiritual discipline. He is a celebrated founder of the Madhyamika system advocating sunyata. Sunyata is the pivotal conception on which the entire Buddhism thought turned. Madhyamika philosophy is reflective awareness of the philosophical consciousness of its own doing. Being a criticism of philosophy, Madhyamika is a philosophy of philosophies. Nagarjunas death: The Kathasaritasagar written by Somadeva is the only extant Indian text which details Nagarjunas life as a pious Buddhist, an expert in medicine and alchemy and also informs about he being a house-holder having several sons and also working as a minister to the King. is quite in keeping with the Bodhisatva ideal. Nagarjuna allowed Jivahara, the son of King Udana to kill him without any resistance

Atul Bhosekar M.A Part I

References: Philosophy of Nagarjuna; T.R.V.Murti; CIHTS, Varanasi; 1977 Nagarjuna; Wikipedia