Nāropā ( Prakrit; sa, Nāropāda, Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) or Abhayakirti was an Indian

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Mahasiddha Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic an ...

. He was the disciple of

Tilopa Tilopa ( Prakrit; Sanskrit: Talika or Tilopadā; 988–1069) was an Indian Buddhist monk in the tantric Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived along the Ganges River, with wild ladies as a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha. He practi ...

and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa's instructions inform Vajrayana, particularly his

six yogas of Naropa The Six Dharmas of Nāropa (, Skt. ''ṣaḍdharma'', "Naro's six doctrines" or "six teachings"), are a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Nāropa (1016-1100 CE) and passed on to th ...

relevant to the

completion stage The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), meditation on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''), which involves the recitation of mantras, prayers and vi ...

anuttarayogatantra Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism refers to the categorization of Buddhist tantric scriptures in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism inherited numerous tantras and forms of tantric practice from medieval Indian Buddhist Tantra. There wer ...

. He was also one of the gatekeepers of

Vikramashila Vikramashila (Sanskrit: विक्रमशिला, IAST: , Bengali:- বিক্রমশিলা, Romanisation:- Bikrômôśilā ) was one of the three most important Buddhist monasteries in India during the Pala Empire, along with ...

monastery which is located in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...

. Although some accounts relate that Naropa was the personal teacher of

Marpa Lotsawa Marpa Lotsāwa (, 1012–1097), sometimes known fully as Marpa Chökyi Lodrö ( Wylie: mar pa chos kyi blo gros) or commonly as Marpa the Translator (Marpa Lotsāwa), was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Vajrayan ...

, other accounts suggest that Marpa held Naropa's lineage through intermediary disciples only.

Names

According to scholar John Newman, "the Tibetans give Nāro's name as ''Nā ro pa, Nā ro paṇ chen, Nā ro ta pa,'' and so forth. The manuscript of the ''Paramarthasaṃgraha'' preserves a Sanskrit form ''Naḍapāda'' (''Paramarthasaṃgraha'' 74). A Sanskrit manuscript edited by Tucci preserves an apparent Prakrit form ''Nāropā'', as well as a semi-Sanskritic ''Nāropāda'' (Tucci 1930:150 & 152)." "Nāro" appears to be a nickname, meaning "Man:" ''nāra'' > vernacular nom. sing. ''nāro'' > ''nāropādāḥ'' > vernacular ''nāropā''. Tibetan sources also hold that Nāropāda is identical to Yaśobhadra (Tib. sNyan grags bzang po), "the Great Kashmiri" (''bṛhatkāśmīra''; ''kha che chen po''), the named author of the ''Vajrapadasārasaṃgraha'', which survives in the original Sanskrit.

Dates

Herbert V. Guenther dated Nāropāda to 1016–1100 CE. These dates are based upon Guenther's misunderstanding of dates appearing in the late Tibetan hagiography he translated. These dates are impossible because, e.g., they would make Nāropāda a young man when Atiśa went to Tibet. Turrell V. Wylie argued Nāropā lived 956–1040 CE. John Newman followed Wylie and offered supporting evidence for dating Nāropāda's death to ''circa'' 1040 CE, but pointed out that the date for Nāropāda's birth derives from Tibetan sources that calculate dates in the Tibetan element-animal sexagenary cycle chronology, which was never used in India, and he concludes that Wylie's date for Nāropāda's birth is uncertain. Newman observes: "As a rule we must be very skeptical of the miraculously precise dates late Tibetan sources provide for events that occurred hundreds of years earlier in India."

Biography

Nāropāda's life story has mainly been represented based upon Tibetan hagiographies (''rnam thar''), the most detailed of which date to centuries after Nāropāda's lifetime. These hagiographies are filled with miracle stories and they sometimes contradict one another, making the extraction of history from them very difficult. The study of Nāropāda's own writings in their own right – independent of later Tibetan interpretations – remains in its infancy. Naropa was born into a

Shunri Shunris are a Bengali Hindu caste whose traditional occupation is the distillation and selling of country wine. History In the census of 2001, the Shunris numbered 317,543 in West Bengal, consisting of 1.7% of the total Scheduled caste popul ...

family of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predo ...

and was a contemporary of Atiśa. Another account is that he was born into a Kashmiri brahmin family. His occupation was selling wood. From an early age showed an independent streak, hoping to follow a career of study and meditation. Succumbing to his parents' wishes, he agreed to an arranged marriage with a young Brahmin girl. After 8 years they both agreed to dissolve their marriage and become ordained. At the age of 28 Naropa entered the famous Buddhist University at

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Sutra and Tantra. He gained the reputation of a great scholar and faultless debater, essential at that time as the tradition of debate was such that the loser automatically became a student of the winner. He eventually gained the title "Guardian of the Northern Gate", engaged in many debates and taught and won many students. According to his Tibetan namtar, or spiritual biography, one day, while he was studying, a dakini appeared to Naropa and asked if he understood the words of the Dharma, the Buddha's teachings. He replied that he did and when she seemed happy with his response, he added that he also understood their meaning. At this point the dakini burst into tears, stating that he was a great scholar, but also a liar, as the only one who understood the teachings was her brother,

. On hearing the name "Tilopa", he experienced an intense feeling of devotion, and Naropa realised he needed to find the teacher to achieve full realisation. He abandoned his studies and position at the university and set out to find Tilopa. Naropa then underwent what is known as the twelve minor hardships in his quest to find his teacher, all the hardships being hidden teachings on his path to enlightenment. When he finally met Tilopa, he was given the four complete transmission lineages which he then began to practice. While studying and meditating with Tilopa, Naropa had to undergo a further twelve major hardships, trainings to overcome all the obstacles on his path, culminating in his full realisation of

mahāmudrā Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...

. Naropa spent a total of twelve years with Tilopa. At the bank of the

Bagmati river , "Tiger Gate") , source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = Confluence with Kamala River , mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India , mouth_coord ...

, in the precint of the

Pashupatinath Temple Pashupatinath Temple ( ne, श्री पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is located in Kathmandu, Nepal. This temple was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. This "extensive ...

, there is the cave where he was initiated by

and attained

Siddhi In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...

. Later in his life Naropa stayed in Phullahari, where he died aged 85. Phullahari or Pullahari was located most likely in eastern Bihar or Bengal.Davidson, Ronald M. ''Indian Esoteric Buddhism''. Columbia University Press, 2003. . One of the few reliable historical accounts of him comes from a Tibetan translator named Ngatso Lotsawa, who made an effort to visit Naropa at the monastery of Phullahari while waiting to visit with Atiśa at

Legacy

Naropa is remembered for his trust and devotion to his teacher, which, according to his biography, enabled him to attain enlightenment in one lifetime. He is also remembered as part of the "Golden Garland", meaning he is a lineage holder of the

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

school of Tibetan Buddhism and was considered an accomplished scholar. A great practitioner, Naropa is best known for having collated the Six Dharmas. These practices help achieve

Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point o ...

more rapidly. Many subsequent

Karmapa The Karmapa (honorific title ''His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ��ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ��ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the '' ...

s have been particularly adept at one or more of these practices, which in Vajrayana tradition are held to have been given by 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 tradition, he was born in Lu ...

and were passed on through an unbroken lineage via

to Naropa, Marpa and Milarepa and on to the present day. Naropa is considered one of the eighty-four

mahasiddha Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic an ...

s, the 'saints' of Vajrayana.

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, USA was named in his honour.

Names

Dates

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading