Catustava

Summary

The article investigates the Caturstava, a collection of hymns attributed to the Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. Early scholars, unaware of the work’s provenance, first encountered some of its verses in the late 19th centuryfile:///home/oai/share/article_pdfs/Catustava.pdf#:~:text=Catustava%3D%20When%20some%20of%201182,10%20one%20and%20%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%20same. The publication of the Dvoḍiccaryāvatārapradīpikā revealed the existence of a Caturstava by Nāgārjunafile:///home/oai/share/article_pdfs/Catustava.pdf#:~:text=work,tl%27nn%20%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%20the%20Dodiciearyiratdrapadijika%20of, and in 1903 de la Vallée Poussin identified and translated a Tibetan version. He assumed that the collection consisted of four hymns—Niraupamyastava, Lekitistava, Cintavajrastava and Paramārthastava—and his identification has been widely acceptedfile:///home/oai/share/article_pdfs/Catustava.pdf#:~:text=83%20raturally%20led%20him%2010,10%20be%20Cittavajrastava%27%C2%AE%20and%20Paramdrthastava%2C%E2%80%99. This article re‑examines the evidence, comparing verses attributed to Nāgārjuna in the Tanjur with those in the supposed four hymns. The author finds discrepancies: some cited verses do not appear in Poussin’s edition and others are found in different stotrasfile:///home/oai/share/article_pdfs/Catustava.pdf#:~:text=all%20of%20them%20are%20tramslated,And%20as%200%20reault. He also analyses an additional hymn, Cintyastava, which contains lines similar to verses cited without sourcesfile:///home/oai/share/article_pdfs/Catustava.pdf#:~:text=it%20came%2010%20my%20notice,viz%2C%20Nirawpamya%C2%AE%20and%20Lekatita%C2%AE%2C%20more. The study concludes that the composition and titles of the Caturstava remain uncertain; more research into Tibetan and Sanskrit sources is needed to establish the work’s structure and authenticity.