ཀན་ཏ་རྒྱ་བ་སན་རངས་ཀྱས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་མད intro.11

intro.11

Lastly, Dīrghanakha’s story is told in Nāgārjuna’s Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra, a commentary, only found in the Chinese canon, on the Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom in Five Thousand Lines, Toh 9). Here he is depicted as a fierce and proud scholar, prevailing everywhere in debate like “an enraged mighty elephant,” until he encounters the Buddha while coming to meet with his newly ordained nephew Śāriputra. The exchange here resembles the accounts in other texts, but with the poignant addition of Dīrghanakha’s inner thoughts as he grapples with the Buddha’s interrogation before admitting defeat and becoming a monk.¹²