NAGARJUNA

born AD 150 died c. 250 Indian Buddhist monk-philosopher and founder of the Madhyamika (Middle Path) school whose clarification of the concept of sunyata (emptiness) is regarded as an intellectual and spiritual achievement of the highest order. He is recognized as a patriarch by several later Buddhist schools. The two basic works that are substantially his and that have remained available in Sanskrit are Mulamadhyamakakarika (more commonly known as Madhyamika Karika) and Vigrahavyavartani, both critical analyses of views about the origin of existence, the means of knowledge, and the nature of reality. Additional reading Discussions of the historical documentation on Nagarjuna and analyses of works credited to him are found in K. Venkata Ramanan (ed.), Nagarjuna's Philosophy as Presented in the Maha-Prajaparamita-Sastra (1966, reprinted 1987); Richard H. Robinson, Early Madhyamika in India and China (1967, reprinted 1978); and T.R.V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika System (1955, reissued 1980).