Acarya Nagarjuna and Yuktisastikakarika

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About the Book

The text titled Yuktisastikakarika is one of the six treatises on Madhyamaka Philosophy ascribed to Acarya Nagarjuna. Containing a total number of sixty stanzas excluding the words of worship, it mainly explains the impossibility of attaining the state bliss without becoming free from two extremes referring to the extreme of eternalism and the extreme of nihilism. In its beautiful verses of succinct, clear and logical expression, existence and non-existence of phenomena, liberation, samsara, nirvana, extreme etc., are examined in order to establish that emptiness is their essence- a central theme of Madhyamika philosophers.

About the Author

Born in a middle class family in West Bengal, Professor (Dr.) Sanjib Kumar Das was educated at Chandpara Nimna Buniyadi Vidyalaya (Amtala) and then in Gobardanga Khäntura High School. Meanwhile, due to some family problems, he fled away from his home and worked as a waiter in several hotels and sweet shops for about two years in Kolkata. Later, he went to Darjeeling and took shelter in a Buddhist Monastery where he also worked as a helper of mason for about a year. In 1996, he was admitted in its branch school where he studied upto standard VIII. Subsequently, he was sent to Varanasi in 1989 in order to get admission in the CIHTS, Sarnath for higher studies. Getting admission, he obtained M.A., pursuing upon Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Language and other modern subjects. In 1998, he was awarded with the Kashi Naresh Gold Medal for being the best student of 1998. After completing M.A., he started doing his Ph.D. which he completed in 2002. In 1999, he was invited to Taiwan where he stayed for about five months working as a translator. In 2002, he got a temporary job in the Translation Department in the CIHTS, Sarnath and simultaneously a permanent in CIBS, Leh where he worked for about six years. In 2008, he got a new job in Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan where he is working now on the post of Professor in the Department of Indo-Tibetan Studies. In 2022, he was awarded with the 'Bharat Siksa Puraskar'. Prof. Das translated, edited, restored, compiled and composed more than twenty-five books which have been published by different universities, institutions and publishers in India. Similarly, more than thirty research papers are published in different national and international journals as well as Bengali translations of more than hundred articles on Buddhist Studies are uploaded in a website (studybuddhism.com). He also completed three Translation Projects sponsored by FMT (USA) and 84000 (USA). Apart from translation, compilation, restoration and editing work, Dr. Das attended numbers of local, national and international seminars conferences, and presented papers.

Introduction

Nāgārjuna, also known as Acārya Nāgārjuna or Arya Nāgārjuna, is renowned in the Mahāyāna Buddhist world as the proponent of the Madhyamika School of Buddhist Philosophy. He was the pioneer of the lineage of profound teachings of emptiness (Skt. Gambhira-drsti-paramparā; Wyl. zab mo lta brgyud), developer of quantum theory and the world-famous pioneer among the seventeen Indian Buddhist Masters. Revered as the second Buddha in the Mahayana Buddhist world, he holds a prominent place among the 'Six Ornaments Beautifying Jambüdvipa (Southern Continent)'. Cultivating his altruistic thought countless kalpas ago, he accumulated merits over numerous kalpas by bringing welfare to limitless sentient beings residing in the inexpressible worldly realms. Finally, he appeared in Jambüdvipa for the purpose of benefiting sentient beings and preserving the sacred Dharma of the Buddha, as prophesized in several sūtras of the Buddha.