Nagarjuna (150 and 250 CE) was a Mahayana Buddhist thinker, saint, and philosopher from India who supported the Mahayana movement.. Nagarjuna is regarded as one of the most influential Buddhist thinkers and known as the creator of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. The most significant text on the Madhyamaka concept of emptiness is his Mulamadhyamakakarika. This article will explain to you the Nagarjuna which will be helpful in Ancient History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Nagarjuna

• It is seldom contested that Nagarjuna was a Buddhist monk who lived between 150 and 250 CE, most likely in southern India.
• Nagarjuna was born into an upper-caste Brahmin family, most likely in the southern Andhra area of India, as a "Hindu," a term that meant religious loyalty to the Vedas at the time.
• Nagarjuna's flight from Andhra to study Buddhism in Nalanda in present-day Bihar, the eventual site of the largest Buddhist scholastic learning monastery in the tradition's illustrious history in India, may probably be based on Tibetan sources.
• Perhaps the Shaka monarchs' march to the north was followed by this exodus.
• Nagarjuna came into his own as a philosopher in the thriving intellectual life of a tumultuous north India at the time.
• Despite the tradition's claim that immersion in the scriptural texts of the competing movements of classical Theravada and emerging "Great Vehicle" (Mahayana) Buddhism sparked Nagarjuna's writings, there is only a few extended references to the early and voluminous classical Buddhist sutras and to the Mahayana texts, which were then being composed in Nagarjuna's preferred language, Sanskrit.

Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna - Philosophy

• The Mulamadhyamakakarika, a comprehensive study of a wide variety of issues, is where Nagarjuna formed his philosophy of emptiness.
• Nagarjuna examines the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and nirvana, among other things, to show that each lacks the autonomy and independence that are wrongly attributed to them.
• His main strategy is to analyze the numerous ways in which a particular object may exist before demonstrating that none of them are tenable due to the absurdities that would be involved.
• The emptiness was characterized by Nagarjuna in terms of the pratitya-samutpada ("dependent origination") concept, which states that objects are not self-arisen but are formed in response to causes and conditions.
• By adopting this viewpoint, he was able to sidestep the charge of nihilism, which he addressed directly in his writings and which his disciples would face for generations.
• The idea of the two truths, paramartha satya ("ultimate truth") and samvriti satya ("conventional truth"), is used by Nagarjuna to explain how everything that exists is ultimately devoid of any inherent essence but existing customarily.
• The conventional is an essential tool for comprehending the ultimate, and the ultimate is what allows the conventional to exist.

Nagarjuna - Literary works

• However, other histories claim that he lived for 600 years, implying that he is the same person as a second Nagarjuna famed for his Tantric (esoteric) works.
• Nagarjuna is credited with two compositions, both of which are poems of instruction to a monarch, implying that he was well-known during his lifetime.
• According to some traditions, he was also the abbot of a monastery and the teacher of Aryadeva, the compiler of key Madhyamika scriptures.
• In India, China, and Tibet, several comments on Nagarjuna's works were written.
• Nagarjuna wrote as a Buddhist monk and a proponent of the Mahayana school, which stressed the concept of the bodhisattva, or one who aspires to be a Buddha; in several of his writings, he defended the Mahayana sutras as the Buddha's true words.
• He composed the Sutra Samuccaya (Compendium of Sutras) anthology, which contained sections from 68 sutras, the majority of which were Mahayana writings.
• In this corpus, Nagarjuna is primarily linked with the Prajnaparamita sutras.
• According to mythology, he rescued a perfection-of-wisdom sutra that the Buddha had committed to the ruler of the nagas (water deities) for safekeeping from the bottom of the sea.
• In addition to songs of gratitude to the Buddha, Nagarjuna wrote expositions on Buddhist ethical practice.

Significance of Works

• Despite his monastic upbringing, Nagarjuna wrote for a wide range of audiences.
• His philosophical writings were occasionally intended toward non-Buddhist logicians, but they were mostly critical of non-Mahayana Buddhist schools' beliefs and assumptions, particularly the Sarvastivada (literally, "Asserting Everything That Exists").
• The bodhisattva's journey to Buddhahood, and the virtue and wisdom that the bodhisattva must amass in order to reach enlightenment, is Nagarjuna's overarching topic.
• The perfection of wisdom, described in the sutras to be the understanding of emptiness, was what Nagarjuna meant by wisdom.
• The sutras' beautiful and often contradictory assertions on emptiness are ascribed to Nagarjuna for developing them into a philosophical framework.

Madhyamaka school of Buddhism

• Madhyamika is a Buddhist school belongs to the Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") tradition.
• Its name comes from its attempt to find a medium ground between the Sarvastivada ("Doctrine That All Is Real") school's realism and the Yogacara ("Mind Only") school's idealism.
• Nagarjuna (2nd century AD), the most famous Mdhyamika thinker, created the idea that all is emptiness (unyavuda).
• The Madhyamika-sastra ("Treatise of the Middle Way") and the Dvadasa-dvara-sastra ("Twelve Gates Treatise") by Nagarjuna, as well as the Sataka-Sastra ("One Hundred Verses Treatise") credited to his disciple Aryadeva, are the three official works of the school.
• Madhyamika philosophers place a heavy emphasis on human consciousness mutations in order to realise the reality of what is truly true beyond any dualism.
• The realm of dualism might be given the practical reality of vyavahara ("discourse and process"), but this reality fades away once the ultimate meaning (paramartha) of the emptiness is realized.
• These beliefs inspired Hindu intellectuals such as Gaudapada (7th century) and Sankara (AD 788–820), the latter being labelled a crypto-Madhyamika by his opponents.

Conclusion

Nagarjuna is the most well-known thinker in Buddhist history after the Buddha. This reputation was evident in Asian Buddhist societies, but it was boosted in the West by the survival of his Mulamadhyamakakarika in Sanskrit and early study by Orientalists. His thought was first dismissed as nihilistic by European scholars, but subsequent generations have viewed Nagarjuna as a competent philosopher whose ideas are similar to those of a number of European intellectuals.

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Discuss the contributions of Nagarjuna to Buddhist philosophy.

Answer: Nagarjuna’s contributions are monumental in shaping Mahayana Buddhism. His doctrine of emptiness provided a framework for understanding the nature of reality, emphasizing that phenomena lack inherent existence. This middle path critique allowed for a nuanced approach to Buddhist teachings, challenging rigid interpretations. His works influenced countless philosophers and established a rich tradition of debate and scholarship in Buddhism, paving the way for future intellectual explorations.

Q2: Analyze the impact of ancient Indian Buddhist scholars on the development of religious thought.

Answer: Ancient Indian Buddhist scholars significantly influenced religious thought across Asia. They engaged in profound philosophical discourse, shaping concepts of ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. Their efforts in translating and preserving texts enabled Buddhism to adapt to various cultural contexts. Scholars like Nagarjuna and others fostered dialogue with competing philosophical traditions, leading to a rich tapestry of religious thought that would impact Hinduism, Jainism, and later, other religions.

Q3: Evaluate the relevance of Nagarjuna's teachings in contemporary Buddhist practices.

Answer: Nagarjuna’s teachings remain relevant in contemporary Buddhist practices, particularly in understanding the nature of suffering and impermanence. His emphasis on emptiness encourages practitioners to transcend dualistic thinking and develop compassion towards all beings. These principles resonate in modern mindfulness practices and philosophical discussions about interdependence. Nagarjuna’s work invites reflection on contemporary issues, such as attachment and identity, reinforcing the enduring legacy of his philosophical insights.

Previous Year Questions on  Nagarjuna

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2022

Question: Who is known as the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism?

Answer: Nagarjuna is recognized as the founder of the Madhyamaka school, which emphasizes the concept of emptiness, influencing various Buddhist traditions.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2021

Question: Critically examine the role of Buddhist scholars in the propagation of Buddhist philosophy in ancient India.

Answer: Buddhist scholars played a crucial role in disseminating Buddhist philosophy through teaching, debate, and textual preservation. They translated texts, engaged with other philosophical traditions, and established monasteries that became centers of learning. Their scholarly activities facilitated the spread of Buddhism beyond India, influencing cultures in Tibet, China, and Southeast Asia. This intellectual engagement not only enriched Buddhism but also fostered cross-cultural dialogues that shaped the religious landscape of ancient and modern Asia.