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{{Short description|Indian Buddhist monk}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|name = Śākyaśrībhadra
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image = File:Shakyashribhadra.jpg
|caption =
|alias =
|dharma name =
|birth_date = {{circa|1127 CE}}
|birth_place = [[Kashmir]]
|death_date = {{circa|1225 CE}}
|death_place = [[Kashmir]]
|nationality =
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
|school = |lineage =
|title =
|location =
|education = {{plainlist|
* [[Nalanda]]
* [[Vikramashila]]
}}
|teacher =
|reincarnation of =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|students = [[Sakya Pandita]]
|spouse =
|children =
}}
'''Śākyaśrībhadra''' (1127–1225 CE), also known as Śākyaśrī, was an [[History of Buddhism in India|Indian Buddhist]] monk and scholar who served as abbot of the monasteries of [[Nalanda]] and [[Vikramashila]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chattopadhyaya |first=Alaka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8Ssa5r7MZkC&dq=%C5%9A%C4%81kya%C5%9Bribhadra&pg=PA5 |title=Atiśa and Tibet: Life and Works of Dipamkara Śrijñana in Relation to the History and Religion of Tibet, with Tibetan Sources Translated Under Lama Chimpa |date=1981 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-0928-4 |language=en}}</ref> He was the last abbot of Vikramashila prior to its destruction in the 13th century.<ref name="Gardner">{{cite journal |last1=Gardner |first1=Alexander |title=Śākyaśrībhadra |journal=Treasury of Lives |url=https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Śākyaśrībhadra/TBRC_p1518}}</ref>

In addition to these positions he held, he also played an important role in the dissemination of the [[Sakya]] school in [[Tibet]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Śākyaśrībhadra |journal=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2014 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-3722}}</ref>

==Biography==
There are conflicting opinions regarding the year of Śākyaśrībhadra's birth with some sources saying 1127 CE and others pointing to a period around the 1140s. However, these sources agree that he was born in a location called ''Daśobharā'' in modern-day [[Kashmir]]. He is also mentioned as having a brother called Buddhacandra.<ref name= "Gardner" /><ref name="Jackson1990">{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=David |chapter=Two Biographies of Śākyaśrībhadra: The Eulogy by Khro-phu lo-tsā-ba and its Commentary by bSod-nams-dpal-bzang-po: Texts and Variants from Two Rare Exemplars in the Bihar Research Society, Patna | title=Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan Studies | volume=4 | location=Stuttgart | publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |date=1990 |pages=1–48 |url=https://www.academia.edu/38200404}}</ref>

His education began at the age of 10 when he began to study grammar under a [[Brahmin]] named Lakṣmīdhara. By the age of 23, he was ordained as a [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monk]] and given the monastic name of Subhadra.
When he was 30, he travelled to the region of [[Magadha]] in modern-day [[Bihar]] after receiving invitations from multiple monks including Ṥāntākaragupta, Daśabala, and Dhavaraka. Śākyaśrībhadra rose through the monastic ranks and eventually became the abbot of [[Nalanda]] monastery. After this, he also served as the abbot of the nearby monastery of [[Vikramashila]]. Notably, he was also the last abbot of Vikramashila and witnessed its destruction at the hands of [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|invading Muslim troops]] at some time around 1193.<ref name= "Gardner" /><ref name= "Jackson1990" />

Following this event, Śākyaśrībhadra fled with his followers to [[Jagaddala Mahavihara]] in [[Bengal]] where he stayed for three years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nath Dhar |first1=Triloki |title=Saints and Sages of Kashmir |date=2004 |publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=9788176485760 |pages=35–36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kb815NoRRoC&dq=sakyasribhadra+jagaddala&pg=PA35}}</ref> However due to the declining situation, Śākyaśrībhadra declared that Buddhism had been "destroyed" in India and left for [[Tibet]] by travelling through [[Nepal]]. Śākyaśrībhadra first arrived in Tibet in 1204 and was accompanied by various other Indian pandits. He is also said to have brought with him relics of the [[Buddha]] that were passed on to him by a [[Sinhalese people|Sri Lankan]] [[arhat]].<ref name= "Jackson1990" /> His time in Tibet was productive and he interacted with the local monks, notably [[Sakya Pandita]] whom he first met in 1204 and met on multiple occasions afterwards. In 1208 he served as the upadhyaya in his ordination ceremony and in 1210 he gave him teachings on the [[Kalachakra]] and poetry among other topics.<ref name= "Gardner" />

At some point, Śākyaśrībhadra left Tibet and returned to his native Kashmir where he continued to teach Buddhism and repair temples. Per traditional sources, he died at the age of 99 in 1225.<ref name= "Gardner" /><ref name= "Jackson1990" />
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Monks of Nalanda]]
[[Category:Monks of Vikramashila]]
[[Category:12th-century Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:13th-century Buddhist monks]]

Śākyaśribhadra - Revision history

Nobranding1: New The Post Basic Info - done