à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha (637âÂÂ735 CE) () was an eminent Indian Buddhist monk and translator of Esoteric Buddhist texts.
He originally studied in Nalanda monastery and later arrived in the Chinese capital Chang'an (now Xi'an) in 716 CE and translated the ', better known as the MahÃÂvairocana Sà «tra. Four years later another master, Vajrabodhi (670âÂÂ741 CE), and his pupil Amoghavajra (705âÂÂ775 CE), would arrive and proceeded to translate other scriptures, thus establishing a second esoteric tradition. Along with these other masters, à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha was responsible for bringing Esoteric Buddhism to the height of its popularity in China.
There are differing views regarding à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha's place of origin. According to Chinese sources, à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha was born in India as the oldest son of Buddhakara (Fo-shou Wang). Li Hua's Shan-wu-wei-hsing-chuang states that his family originated in Magadha in the statement: "[à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha] was a man of Magadha in Middle India, having resided at the monastery of Nalanda of the city Rajagrha.â His funeral stele also refers to him as "Late Trepiá¹Âaka UpÃÂdhyÃÂya à ÂubhÃÂkarasiá¹Âha from Central India, Who Passed Away in the Great Shengshan Monastery in the Eastern Capital of the Great Tang" (). Other scholars state that he was from Odisha and that his ancestors have arrived there following unrest in their original homeland in Central India. A theory has been put forward that à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha may have been an ancestor of the Bhauma-Kara dynasty, which ruled in Odisha between the 8th and 10th centuries, and whose kings included people named à Âubhakara.
According to his biography, à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha ascended to the throne as king when he was thirteen years old. Although emerging victorious from a power struggle with his older brothers, he turned over his position to his oldest brother and entered the monastic life. He became well known for his supernatural abilities and finally settled in NÃÂlandàwhere he met the master Dharmagupta. After being instructed by him and gaining the title of Trepiá¹Âaka (Buddhist doctor), à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha became a travelling teacher and was then told by Dharmagupta to go further east to China.
While travelling to China, he went through the territory of the Turk Shahi kingdom around modern-day Kashmir and Afghanistan. Here he preached Buddhism to the Turks and this event was recorded in his stone stele inscription which was erected by his disciple, Li Hua:
Due to unstable conditions in Central India, à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha reached ChangâÂÂan in China via Tibet. When à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha arrived in China, he was already eighty years old and was carrying with him a variety of different manuscripts although the catalogue of what texts he brought with him has been lost. Upon his arrival, he became well known for his supposed supernatural abilities and became favoured by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. It was during this time that he translated several works of Esoteric Buddhism including the '. Emperor Xuanzong first invited him to Xingfu si but later reassigned him to Ximing si. From this point onwards he assembled a group of assistants to help him with the translations of the manuscripts that he brought with him. The Chinese hagiographies also praise his metallurgical skills and craftsmanship and state that he designed and modelled many Buddhist images and stupas.
According to Robert Sharf, Chán Master Yi Xing () was the most eminent of his students. Yixing belonged to the northern school of Chán Buddhism, but this was not seen by Chinese Buddhist culture as being fundamentally different from the esoteric teachings of à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha. Around the turn of the eighth century, the northern school was known for its esoteric practices of dhÃÂraá¹Âës and mantras. à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha died in 735 CE and was posthumously bestowed with the title of "Court Director of State Ceremonial" (Honglu qing ). He was buried in 740 CE in the hills nearby to Longmen Caves and the site of his burial became a place of reverence for at least 250 years after his death.
After his death, many Chinese hagiographical sources on à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha's life began to place an emphasis on the supernatural feats or Siddhis that he was said to have performed during his lifetime. These include stories and legends of defeating monsters, dragons, serpents among others. Some of these stories also promoted his rainmaking abilities. One of these stories states:
Other stories also detail how he used his siddhis to save the lives of other people:
à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha was the first patriarch of the Shingon teachings in China. Following à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha, the lineage is traced to his student Chán Master Yixing, then to Huiguo (), and finally to Kà «kai (), who brought the teachings of à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha and his translation of the ' to Japan.
A total of sixteen translations have been attributed to à Âubhakarasiá¹Âha. These texts range from initiation manuals as well as ritual manuals. Some examples of works he has translated include: