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Nagarjuna

Type Figure Region India Time c. 150–250 Also known as Bodhisattva Longmeng

Nagarjuna, founder of the Madhyamaka school of Indian Mahayana Buddhism in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE, systematically expounded emptiness in works such…

Timeline

  1. c. 150–180Southern Vishnuparvata · Andhra PradeshAccording to biographical tradition, Nagarjuna studied Brahmanical and Buddhist scriptures in his youth, then deeply studied the Prajnaparamita corpus, forming a systematic understanding of dependent origination and emptiness that laid the foundation for founding the Madhyamaka school.
  2. c. 180–250South India · IndiaNagarjuna authored works such as the Mulamadhyamakakarika and the Twelve Gate Treatise, expounding the emptiness of all dharmas through the eight negations of the Middle Way, critiquing the Sarvastivada schools and early Yogacara thought, and establishing the Madhyamaka philosophical tradition that influenced later Nagarjuna-lineage transmissions.

Sources