Mahavana and Hinayana Works Known to Nagarjuna

Summary

The article surveys the Buddhist texts that the philosopher Nāgārjuna may have known when composing his seminal works. It first distinguishes between the Mahāyāna treatises attributed to him—such as the Mūlamadhyamaka‑kārikā—and later commentaries falsely ascribed to him. The author argues that although Nāgārjuna is celebrated as a Mahāyāna thinker, he was well versed in Hīnayāna (Theravāda) literature. References in his writings suggest familiarity with the Agamas, the early collections of sūtras, as well as with Abhidharma doctrines. The article notes that one of Nāgārjuna’s lost works was a commentary on the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā and that he may have written glosses on the Ten Bhūmis section of the Avataṃsaka‑sūtra. By comparing citations and doctrinal parallels, the author reconstructs Nāgārjuna’s intellectual milieu as one in which Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna ideas were not yet rigidly separated. This challenges the view that Nāgārjuna’s philosophy was a radical departure from earlier Buddhism. Instead, he emerges as a scholar synthesising diverse scriptural traditions.