Ariyabalma (also known as Aryavarma and originally as Chollyun) was a 7th century

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

Buddhist monk and scholar. He is notable for his travels to China and India and eventually living as a monk in the monastery of

Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sources

There are three main sources on Ariyabalma's life. The first of these was composed by the Chinese monk

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

, just a few years after the death of Ariyabalma and is entitled the "''Biographies of Eminent Monks Who Went to the Western Regions in Search of the Law at the time of the Great Tang'' (大唐求法高僧傳)". The second source is from

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and is the

Haedong Goseungjeon {{Infobox Korean name, hangul=해동고승전, hanja={{linktext, 海, 東, 高, 僧, 傳, rr=Haedong goseungjeon, mr=Haedong Kosŭng Chŏn The ''Haedong Goseungjeon'' (translated most commonly as the "Lives of Eminent Korean Monks") was a compi ...

, which was composed in the 13th century by the monk Gakhun while he was working in the court of King

Gojong of Goryeo Gojong (1192–1259), personal name Wang Cheol, was the 23rd king of the Korean Goryeo dynasty, ruling from 1213 to 1259. Gojong's reign was marked by prolonged conflict with the Mongol Empire, which sought to conquer Goryeo, ending only to set ...

. The third and final source is the

Samguk yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...

, which is a collection of legends and tales for the

three kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

of Korea.

Biography

Ariyabalma was born in the Kingdom of

at some year between 605 and 615 CE. His birth name was ''Chollyun''. He belonged to a high-ranking family, probably connected to the ruling family in some capacity. The result of this was that Ariyabalma received a high level of education common to children of his family's rank. His family were Buddhist, although there is nothing in the sources to indicate that he was ordained as a monk during this early period of his life. For reasons unknown, at some point he left

to travel to

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He led an isolated life in Chang'an, possibly as a result of taking the vows and becoming an ordained monk, although some scholars have speculated that this was because of political troubles in his homeland forcing him to conceal his identity. No later than 649 CE, Ariyabalma departed China and travelled to the

Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...

and from there travelled to the monastery of

in modern-day

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. It was here that he was ordained and given the

dharma name A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...

''Ariyabalma''. He worked in Nalanda as a

copyist A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the ...

of sacred Buddhist texts. Ariyabalma stayed for the rest of his life in Nalanda and dying at the age of seventy.

References

{{reflist Monks of Nalanda 7th-century Buddhist monks Silla Buddhist monks Korean Buddhist missionaries

Sources

Biography

See also

References