Acharya Nāgārjuna (Devanagari:नागार्जुन, Tibetan: ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ་ klu sgrub, Chinese: 龍樹) (ca. 150–250 CE) was an Indian philosopher who founded the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
His writings are the basis for the formation of the Madhyamaka school, which was transmitted to China under the name of the Three Treatise (Sanlun) School. He is credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita sutras, and was closely associated with the Buddhist university of Nalanda. In the Jodo Shinshu branch of Buddhism, he is considered the First Patriarch.
Little is known about the actual life of the historical Nagarjuna. The two most extensive biographies of Nagarjuna, one in Chinese and the other in Tibetan, were written many centuries after his life and incorporate material seen by some as historically unreliable. Nagarjuna was born a Brahmin, which in his time connoted religious allegiance to the Vedas, probably into an upper-caste Brahmin family and probably in the southern Andhra region of India.
3rd-century Indian Buddhist philosopher
| Born | c. 150 |
| Died | c. 250 |
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3rd-century Indian Buddhist philosopher
| Born | c. 150 |
| Died | c. 250 |
Subjects
Early works to 1800, Mādhyamika (Buddhism), Buddhism, Tripiṭaka, Commentaries, Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhist Philosophy, Pratītyasamutpāda, Texts, Tibetan language, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist philosophy, Prayers and devotions, Religious life, Tales, Doctrines, History and criticism, Madhyamika (Buddhism), Bodhisattva stages (Mahayana Buddhism), Buddha and Buddhism, Correspondence, Nagarjuna, active 2nd century, Spiritual life, Sunyata, Tibetan MedicinePeople
Nāgārjuna (2nd cent), Nāgārjuna (active 2nd century), Aśvaghoṣa, Candrakīrti, Gautama Buddha, Thon-mi Sambhoṭa (fl. 632)Time
Early works to 1800ID Numbers
- OLID: OL2911834A
- ISNI: 0000000080880781
- VIAF: 8711937
- Wikidata: Q171195
- Inventaire.io: wd:Q171195
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Alternative names
- Acharya Nāgārjuna
- Nāgārjuna
- Ngrjuna
- नागार्जुन
- ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ་
- klu sgrub
- 龍樹
| May 3, 2023 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
| May 3, 2023 | Edited by Tom Morris | Add names in other languages to AKAs |
| September 30, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | add ISNI |
| March 31, 2017 | Edited by MARC Bot | add VIAF and wikidata ID |
| September 5, 2010 | Edited by Prajña | merge authors |