Majjhantika
Majjhantika
Buddhist missionary monk during Ashoka's period
Majjhantika (also known as Madhyantika[1]) was the Indian Buddhist monk of Varanasi who was deputed by Ashoka to spread Buddhism in the regions of Kashmir and Gandhara.[2][3]
Majjhantika was born in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.[4] He was tasked by Ashoka to travel from Varanasi to Kashmir and Gandhara and spread Buddhism following the Third Buddhist Council which is held in Pataliputra.[5]
Pali sources detail that Majjhantika was one of the monks sent by Ashoka to cover the Kashmir and Gandhara region. This is also corroborated by the 7th-century monk, Xuanzang. Xuanzang visited this region he noted that most Buddhists belonged to the Sthavira nikāya school which is also the school that Majjhantika belonged to.[1]
- Kumāra, Braja Bihārī (2007). India and Central Asia: Classical to Contemporary Periods. Concept Publishing Company. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-8069-457-8.
- Hirakawa, Akira (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 87. ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0.
- Warikoo, Kulbhushan (2009). Cultural Heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. Pentagon Press. ISBN 978-81-8274-376-2.
- Bibhuti Baruah (2000). Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. Sarup & Sons. p. 453. ISBN 978-81-7625-152-5.
