Mahasiddha Savari

was guided to liberation by Nagarjuna, from whom he received

the complete teachings of mahamudra. According to certain
traditions, Savari later received this same quintessential dharma
directly from the bodhisattvas Ratnamati and Sukhanatha, and
also from Saraha, at the mountain retreat of Sriparvata (i.e.
Nagarjunakonda in South India). Savari means "hill-person" and
the few biographical fragments we have of Savari's life describe
him sometimes as a hunter and sometimes as a dancer.
The hunter Savari is said to have met bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, who wagered his boast
of being able to kill 100 animals with one arrow against a promise from Savari to abstain
from hunting for one month. Avalokitesvara killed the 100 animals (which were in fact
his emanations) with a single shot. After the month of not killing, Savari and his wife
were shown their terrible future rebirth, created by all they had killed. Shocked to see
their own future suffering in hell-realms, they became devoted tantric Buddhists and each
eventually reached liberation. They are often shown in consort form.
His main disciple was Maitripa. Theirs seems to have been an extraordinary relationship,
as the famous scholarly Maitripa received from this former hunter detailed clarifications
on the profound meaning of the mahamudra scriptures (such as the Druppa Dedjin of
mahamudra, the Nyingpo Kordruk, the twenty-four sections of Amanasi, and the
extensive and concise texts of the Doha). It shows the metamorphic power of these
teachings