Nagarjuna

[Dominik Wujastyk]

Dear Ken,
 
Regarding Naagaarjuna, see Granoff's fascinating article `Jain
Biographies of Nagarjuna: Notes on the Composing of a Biography in
Medieval India' in _Monks and Magicians: Religious Biographies in
Asia_, edited by Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara (New York etc.:
Mosaic Press, 1988).  (Available from Riverrun Press Inc, 1170
Broadway, Suite 807, New York, NY 10001, distributed by Kampmann &
Co., 9 East 40th Street, New York 10016.)
 
See also her bibliography and refs., esp. the books by Walleser and
Satchidananda Murty.
 
It seems that Naagaarjuna wears "Saivite, Buddhist and Jain hats, to suit
his audience.  The Rasendrama"ngala seems to have elements that bind it
to the Buddhist milieu ("Srii Paarvata, "Saalivaahana raaja, ref. to
Praj~naapaaramitaa), but confusingly it starts with the "sloka
 
     natvaa rasendra.m "sivasaukhyadaayakam
 
which looks awfully "saiva, unless `"siva' is taken in a purely adjectival
sense, which seems strained to me.
 
[Does  anyone on INDOLOGY have a postal address (or even better, email) for
Phyllis Granoff?  Many thanks.]
 
Best wishes,
 
Dominik