A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4.314

v2.c19.s6.t4.314

One of Dharmapāla's pupils is Chandrakīrti, who must accordingly have lived in the 6th century, and not, as is usually taken for granted,⁴ in the 7th. According to Tāranātha, he was born in Southern India at Samanta, even in childhood showed great intellectual gifts, entered the monastic order, studied all the Piṭakas, and began to study the works of Nāgārjuna under Kamalabuddhi, the pupil of Buddhapālita and Bhavya. After completing his studies, he lived as a Pandit in Nālandā, and wrote numerous works on Mādhyamika philosophy. He is the principal representative of the Prāsaṅgika school, and carried on the work of Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva.¹ His chief work is the Madhyamakāvatāra, "Introduction to the Middle Doctrine," which has come down to us in the Tibetan Tanjur.² Chandrakīrti frequently refers to this work of his own, in the above-mentioned commentary Prasannapadā on the Mūla-Madhyamaka-Kārikās. In this commentary he gives evidence of exceptional erudition, in the numerous quotations, which are very important for us, because many of the texts which he cites, have not come down to us in Sanskrit. Chandrakīrti is not only a learned scholastic, but a good writer as well. The numerous verse quotations, which occur especially frequently at the end of a chapter, put life into the narration. His commentary on Āryadeva's Catuḥśatikā is a work of even greater literary merit. In this treatise, the presentation of the dogmas and philosophical doctrines is continually flavoured by means of examples, comparisons and parables.³