Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Biography of Nagarjuna
Once, when Nagarjuna was teaching Prajnaparamita, six nagas came and formed an umbrella
over his head to protect him from the sun. Because of this, the iconographic representation of
Nagarjuna has the six nagas over his head. From this event, he got the name Naga. And from
the fact that his skill in teaching Dharma went straight to the point, like the arrows of the
famous archer Arjuna (the name of the hero in the Hindu classic, Bhagavad Gita), he got the
name Arjuna. Thus, he became called "Nagarjuna."
Nagarjuna later traveled to the Northern Island (Northern Continent) to teach. On the way, he
met some children playing on the road. He prophesied that one of them, named Jetaka, would
become a king. When Nagarjuna returned from the Northern Island, the boy had in fact grown
up and become the king of a large kingdom in South India. Nagarjuna stayed with him for
three years, teaching him, and then spent his last years elsewhere in his kingdom, at Shri
Parvata, the holy mountain overlooking modern-day Nagarjunakonda. Nagarjuna wrote for the
KingA Precious Garland (Rin-chen 'phreng-ba, Skt. Ratnavali). This was the same king to
whom Nagarjuna wrote A Letter to a Friend (bShes-pa'i spring-yig, Skt. Suhrllekha), namely
King Udayibhadra (bDe-spyod bzang-po).
Some Western scholars identify King Udayibhadra with King Gautamiputra Shatakarni (ruled
106 - 130 C.E.) of the Shatavahana Dynasty (230 B.C.E. - 199 C.E.) in present-day Andhra
Pradesh. Some identify him with the next king, Vashishtiputra Pulumayi (130 - 158 C.E.). It is
difficult to identify him exactly. The Shatavahanas were patrons of the stupa in Amaravati,
where Buddha had first taught The Kalachakra Tantra and which was close to Shri Parvata.
King Udayibhadra had a son, Kumara Shaktiman, who wanted to become king. His mother
told him that he could never become king until Nagarjuna died, since Nagarjuna and the King
have the same lifespan. His mother said to ask Nagarjuna for his head and since Nagarjuna
was so compassionate, he would undoubtedly agree to give it to him. Nagarjuna did in fact
agree, but Kumara could not cut his head off with a sword. Nagarjuna said in a previous life,
he had killed an ant while cutting grass. As a karmic result, his head could only be cut off with
a blade of kusha grass. Kumara did this and Nagarjuna died. The blood from the severed head
turned into milk and the head said, "Now I will go to Sukhavati Pure Land, but I will enter this
body again." Kumara took the head far away from the body, but it is said that the head and the
body are coming closer together each year. When they join, Nagarjuna will return and teach
again. All in all, Nagarjuna lived six hundred years.
Among the many texts on sutra topics that Nagarjuna wrote are his Collections of Reasoning
(Rigs-pa'i tshogs), Collections of Praises (bsTod-pa'i tshogs), and Collections of Didactic
Explanations (gTam-pa'i tshogs).
The Six Collections of Reasoning (Rigs-tshogs drug) are:
Root Verses on Madhyamaka, called "Discriminating Awareness" (dBu-ma rtsa-ba
shes-rab, Skt. Prajna-nama- mulamadhyamaka-karika),
Precious Garland (Rin-chen 'phreng-ba, Skt. Ratnavali),
Refutation of Objections (rTsod-pa zlog-pa, Skt. Vigrahavyavarti).
Seventy Verses on Voidness (sTong-nyid bdun-bcu-pa, Skt. Shunyatasaptati),
Sutra Called "Finely Woven" (Zhib-mo rnam-'thag zhes-bya-ba'i mdo, Skt.
Vaidalya-sutra-nama),
Sixty Verses of Reasoning (Rigs-pa drug-cu-pa, Skt. Yuktishashtika),
Included among his Collections of Praise are:
Biography of Nagarjuna
Biography of Nagarjuna
Biography of Nagarjuna