Śākyaśribhadra
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Śākyaśrībhadra (1127–1225 CE), also known as Śākyaśrī, was an
Indian Buddhist Buddhism is an ancient Indian religions, Indian religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (now Bihar, India). It is based on the teachings of The Buddha, Gautama Buddha, who lived in the 6t ...
monk and scholar who served as abbot of the monasteries of
Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
and
Vikramashila Vikramashila ( IAST: ) was a Buddhist monastery situated in what is now modern-day Bihar in India. It was founded by King Dharmapala between the late eighth and early ninth century. It was one of the three most important Buddhist Mahaviharas ...
. He was the last abbot of Vikramashila prior to its destruction in the 13th century. In addition to these positions he held, he also played an important role in the dissemination of the
Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
school in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
.


Biography

There are conflicting opinions regarding the year of Śākyaśrībhadra's birth with some sources saying 1127 CE and others pointing to a period around the 1140s. However, these sources agree that he was born in a location called ''Daśobharā'' in modern-day
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
. He is also mentioned as having a brother called Buddhacandra. His education began at the age of 10 when he began to study grammar under a
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
named Lakṣmīdhara. By the age of 23, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk and given the monastic name of Subhadra. When he was 30, he travelled to the region of
Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
in modern-day
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
after receiving invitations from multiple monks including Ṥāntākaragupta, Daśabala, and Dhavaraka. Śākyaśrībhadra rose through the monastic ranks and eventually became the abbot of
Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
monastery. After this, he also served as the abbot of the nearby monastery of
Vikramashila Vikramashila ( IAST: ) was a Buddhist monastery situated in what is now modern-day Bihar in India. It was founded by King Dharmapala between the late eighth and early ninth century. It was one of the three most important Buddhist Mahaviharas ...
. Notably, he was also the last abbot of Vikramashila and witnessed its destruction at the hands of invading Muslim troops at some time around 1193. Following this event, Śākyaśrībhadra fled with his followers to Jagaddala Mahavihara in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
where he stayed for three years. However due to the declining situation, Śākyaśrībhadra declared that Buddhism had been "destroyed" in India and left for
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
by travelling through
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. Śākyaśrībhadra first arrived in Tibet in 1204 and was accompanied by various other Indian pandits. He is also said to have brought with him relics of the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
that were passed on to him by a Sri Lankan
arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
. His time in Tibet was productive and he interacted with the local monks, notably
Sakya Pandita Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (Tibetan: ས་སྐྱ​་པཎ་ཌི་ཏ་ཀུན་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, ) who lived from (1 April 1182 – 28 December 1251) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and t ...
whom he first met in 1204 and met on multiple occasions afterwards. In 1208 he served as the upadhyaya in his ordination ceremony and in 1210 he gave him teachings on the
Kalachakra ''Kālacakra'' () is a Polysemy, polysemic term in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and Hinduism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in History of ...
and poetry among other topics. At some point, Śākyaśrībhadra left Tibet and returned to his native Kashmir where he continued to teach Buddhism and repair temples. Per traditional sources, he died at the age of 99 in 1225.


References

{{reflist Monks of Nalanda Monks of Vikramashila 12th-century Buddhist monks 13th-century Buddhist monks