Nāgārjuna

Nāgārjuna is the towering philosopher of the Madhyamaka ('Middle Way') tradition and the author of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, the foundational treatise on emptiness (śūnyatā). His philosophical importance is beyond doubt and his working window—roughly the 2nd–3rd century CE—is well supported. His biography, however, is heavily legend-laden: traditional accounts give him a near-superhuman lifespan and tantric and alchemical exploits, and scholarship has long noted that several distinct figures named Nāgārjuna (a philosopher, a tantric, an alchemist) were likely conflated. His traditional South Indian origin is itself part of that uncertain hagiography. He is therefore treated as a figure of tradition: the works and the philosophy are firm; the life is presented as tradition, not fact.