Nāgārjuna () () is considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers, and in some traditions he is known as an
Indian metallurgist and
alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim ...
.
History
There are conflicting traditions of Nagarjuna as a founder of the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
sect of Buddhism, and Nagarjuna the alchemist. Chinese and Tibetan literature suggests Nāgārjuna was born in
Vidarbha
Vidarbha (Pronunciation: �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a proposed state of central India, comprising the state's Amravati and Nagpur divisions. Amravati Division's former name is Be ...
, and later migrated to the nearby
Satavahana dynasty
The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the la ...
. One tradition is that rasasiddha Nagarjuna was born in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and was a
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
in his past life. He later travelled to various places in South India and established many laboratories. There are evidences found of his experimental laboratory in village
Nagalwadi in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
state. According to some evidences he was working on immortality and knew the extraction of iron and mercury. There is much confusion about this author in the secondary literature. A 1984 study of manuscripts and printed editions connected with the alchemist Nāgārjuna found that his name is associated with a work titled ''Rasendramaṅgala''
but that the manuscripts of the ''Rasaratnākara'' are uniformly ascribed to a different author, Nityanātha Siddha.
Works
Because many historical authors have written under the name Nāgārjuna, and many works on medicine and alchemy have been ascribed to this figure, scholars recommend distinguishing the alchemical Nāgārjuna from the second-century Buddhist philosopher
of the same name. Manuscript works with the claimed authorship of Nāgārjuna include: Jīvasūtra,
Rasavaiśeṣikasūtra,
Yogaśataka,
Kakṣapuṭa,
Yogaratnamālā
and several other works (Meulenbeld lists over fifty).
Traditional accounts hold that Nāgārjuna practiced ayurvedic alchemy (
rasayāna
''Rasāyana'' (रसायन) is a Sanskrit word literally meaning ''path'' (''ayana'') ''of essence'' (''rasa''). It is an early ayurvedic medical term referring to techniques for lengthening lifespans and invigorating the body. It is one of ...
). Kumārajīva's biography for example, describes Nāgārjuna making an elixir of invisibility, and Bus-ton, Taranatha and Xuanzang all recount that he could turn rocks into gold.
The most recent comprehensive discussion of the complicated text-historical issues connected with the name Nāgārjuna is given in the ''History of Indian Medical Literature''.
See also
*
Rasavātam
''Rasāyana'' (रसायन) is a Sanskrit word literally meaning ''path'' (''ayana'') ''of essence'' (''rasa''). It is an early ayurvedic medical term referring to techniques for lengthening lifespans and invigorating the body. It is one of ...
*
History of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent
The history of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent began prior to the 3rd millennium BCE and continued well into the British Raj. Metals and related concepts were mentioned in various early Vedic age texts. The Rigveda already uses the Sanskrit ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagarjuna
Indian alchemists
10th-century alchemists