Aryadeva

Aryadeva was an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher associated with the Mahayana Madhyamaka school. Traditionally dated to the 2nd or 3rd century CE, his exact dates remain uncertain. He is regarded as a disciple of Nagarjuna and played a key role in the early development of Madhyamaka thought, contributing to its method of analyzing phenomena through the lens of emptiness and dependent origination.

Aryadeva is best known for the Catuhsataka, usually rendered as The Four Hundred Verses. The text presents a concise, dialectical exploration of emptiness and critiques of inherent existence and essentialist views. Through a sequence of arguments and examples, Aryadeva argues that all phenomena lack intrinsic nature and arise only in dependence on causes and conditions. The Catuhsataka has been influential in Indian Madhyamaka circles and has been widely studied in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhist traditions.

Scholarly assessments of Aryadeva’s biography and even the attribution of the Catuhsataka vary. Traditional sources treat him as Nagarjuna’s pupil, but modern scholars debate his exact place in the lineage and the dating of the text. Regardless of these questions, his work is regarded as foundational in shaping later debates on emptiness within the Madhyamaka tradition.

Within Buddhist philosophy, Aryadeva’s analyses contributed to the development of later Madhyamaka interpretations, and his arguments are referenced by later commentators who elaborate on negation and dependent arising in the Tibetan and broader Buddhist scholastic heritage.