Character Catalog

Nāgārjuna's philosophical masterpiece in 448 verses, which establishes the Mādhyamika school. Through relentless dialectical reasoning, he demonstrates that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence (śūnyatā).

A text in verse and prose in which Nāgārjuna responds to critiques of his theory of emptiness. He clarifies that his own thesis is likewise empty, which makes it logically self-consistent.

A philosophical and political letter addressed to a Sātavāhana king, setting out the ethical principles of Mahāyāna Buddhism as applied to governance. It is one of the rare texts in which Nāgārjuna addresses a layperson.

A short verse treatise developing the doctrine of emptiness as applied to the fundamental categories of existence and time. It complements and deepens the arguments of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

A treatise in 60 verses on the logic of emptiness and the nature of liberation (nirvāṇa). Nāgārjuna argues that the distinction between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is itself empty of substance.

A vast multi-volume commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, preserved in Chinese translation by Kumārajīva. Its attribution to Nāgārjuna remains a subject of debate among modern scholars.

Nothing exists by its own nature (svabhāva) — not here, not there, not in causes, not in conditions, not in their combination, nor in their absence.

As long as you have not attained enlightenment, the welfare of the world depends on you. Therefore, rule with righteousness, free from arrogance and with compassion for all beings.

If all things are empty, your own words are empty too, and they therefore cannot refute anything. — To this I reply: my proposition is itself empty, and that is precisely why it refutes without relying on any intrinsic nature.

Existence, non-existence, both existence and non-existence, neither one nor the other: these are the four positions that the Buddha declared false for all things.

Perfect wisdom sees that all dharmas are like dreams, like illusions, like reflections in a mirror: they have neither true arising nor true cessation.

A major archaeological site in present-day Andhra Pradesh, associated with the Nāgārjuna tradition. This Buddhist monastic center, flourishing in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE, bears witness to the spread of his teachings across southern India.

A great Buddhist monastic university of which Nāgārjuna is considered one of the founding abbots according to Tibetan tradition. The site became the intellectual heart of Mahāyāna Buddhism for several centuries.

Capital of the Sātavāhana dynasty and a major Buddhist center of the Deccan, adorned with a celebrated richly carved stūpa. Nāgārjuna is said to have spent time in this region and maintained close ties with the royal court.

A sacred mountain identified with Śrīśailam in Andhra Pradesh, where Nāgārjuna is said to have lived for an extended period and composed several of his major works. Buddhist tradition regards it as his favored place of retreat.