RoyalEddington6: Creating The Data Initial Version

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Creating The Data Initial Version

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{{Short description|Buddhist monk and scholar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|name = Subhūticandra
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image = Manuscript of the Subantaratnākara.png
|caption = 15th century manuscript of the Subantaratnākara by Subhūticandra. This was copied by a Nepalese Buddhist monk called ''Dharmaraṣika''<ref>{{cite web |title=Subantaratnākara (MS Or.148) |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-00148/1 |website=Sanskrit Manuscripts |publisher=Cambridge University Library}}</ref>
|alias =
|dharma name =
|birth_date = {{circa|11th century CE}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{circa|12th century CE}}
|death_place =
|nationality =
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
|school = {{plainlist|
* [[Mahayana]]
}}
|lineage =
|title =
|location =
|education = {{plainlist|
* [[Nalanda]]
* [[Vikramashila]]
}}
|teacher =
|reincarnation of =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|students =
|spouse =
|children =
}}
'''Subhūticandra''' (also spelled as '''Subhutichandra''') was an 11/12th-century Indian [[Buddhist]] monk and scholar active in the monastic universities of [[Nalanda]] and [[Vikramashila]].<ref name=Deokar2012>{{cite journal |last1=Deokar |first1=Lata |title=Subhūticandra: A Forgotten Scholar of Magadha |journal=Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka |date=2012 |volume=10 |pages=137–154 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7228101}}</ref><ref name=Deokar2014>{{cite journal |last1=Deokar |first1=Lata |title=SUBHŪTICANDRA'S KAVIKĀMADHENU |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=2014 |volume=95 |pages=136–147 |jstor=26493979 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26493979}}</ref> His most notable work is the ''Kavikāmadhenu'' which is a commentary on the [[Amarakosha|''Amarakośa'']] which has been referred to as "one of the great monuments of Indian lexicography".<ref name=Kuijp2009>{{cite journal |last1=van der Kuijp |first1=Leonard |title=On the Vicissitudes of Subhūticandra's Kāmadhenu Commentary on the Amarakoṣa in Tibet |journal=Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies |date=2009 |issue=5 |url=https://www.academia.edu/4449362}}</ref> In the 1930s, the historian and author, [[Rahul Sankrityayan]] discovered three palm leaf manuscripts of Subhūticandra's works written in the Magadhi script in [[Samye]] monastery. The [[Göttingen State and University Library]] has preserved one of these manuscripts while the other two have been kept in the library of Bihar Research Society in [[Patna]].<ref name= Deokar2012 />

From his works and translations, he had knowledge of [[Sanskrit]], [[Prakrit]] and [[Classical Tibetan|Tibetan]] and his works have been referenced and quoted in the historical literature of [[India]], [[Burma]], [[Tibet]] and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name=Formigatti>{{cite book |last1=Formigatti |first1=Camillo Alessio |title=Indic Manuscript Cultures Through the Ages Material, Textual, and Historical Investigations |date=2017 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=9783110543124 |pages=650–658 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3FLDwAAQBAJ}}</ref> The scholar, Lata Deokar has noted that very few Indian Buddhist writers have seen their works cross into such a wide geographic range.<ref name= Deokar2012 />

==Life==
Subhūticandra was active during the reign of the King [[Bhoja]] of the [[Paramara dynasty]] as he quotes from his work, the [[Shringara-Prakasha]]. This would place him at some point in the 11th and 12th centuries. Tibetan sources indicate that he was a scholar of [[grammar]], [[poetry]] and [[Sanskrit]] at both the monasteries of [[Vikramashila]] and [[Nalanda]]. In Nalanda, he worked under the monk [[Abhayakaragupta]]; in Vikramasila, his masters were Śākyarakṣita and Aṭitacandra.<ref name= Deokar2014 /> The terminology and language used by Subhūticandra in his works indicate that he was a native of the region of [[Magadha]] in the modern-day state of [[Bihar]] in [[India]].<ref name= Deokar2012 />

His works and affiliation with other Buddhist scholars also make it clear that he was a devout Buddhist.<ref name= Deokar2012 /><ref name= Deokar2014 />

==Teachings==
Subhūticandra was known for his extensive knowledge of [[Sanskrit grammar]], particularly the Cāndra grammatical tradition. He cites various grammatical texts, including the ''Cāndravyākaraṇa'', ''Cāndravṛtti'', ''Cāndravyākaraṇapañjik''ā, and others.
He also incorporates discussions from the Pāṇinian tradition, referencing texts like the [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]] and Vyākaraṇamahābhāṣya.
Subhūticandra's work shows his familiarity with Prakrit grammars, quoting authors like Hevvara and texts such as Prākṛtaprakāśa.<ref name= Formigatti />

In addition to grammar, Subhūticandra was knowledgeable in lexicography and poetics. His commentary on the Amarakośa—a seminal Sanskrit thesaurus—highlights his familiarity with this area.<ref name= Formigatti />

===Subantaratnākara===
This text, attributed to Subhūticandra, is a lesser-known work that deals with the declension of nouns and adjectives according to the Cāndra grammatical school. The text is preserved in several manuscripts, primarily in Nepal.
The Subantaratnākara underscores his contributions to grammatical analysis, particularly within the Buddhist scholastic tradition.<ref name= Formigatti />

==Transmission==
Subhūticandra was a teacher of notable figures, such as Pa tshab Lo tsā ba, who studied important Buddhist sutras with him at Vikramaśīla, further spreading his teachings.<ref name= Formigatti />

Four manuscripts of the ''Kavikāmadhenu'' survive of which two have been found in Tibet and as they were written in the [[Newari script]], they were likely copied in the [[Kathmandu Valley]].<ref name= Kuijp2009 /> One of these manuscripts was in the [[Sakya Monastery]] complex while the other was held at the ''Ngor evaṃ chos ldan'' Monastery north of the Sakya monastery. It is unknown how these manuscripts entered Tibet. The Ngor monastery manuscript has been dated to 1191.<ref name= Kuijp2009 />

==Works==

*''Kavikāmadhenu''
*''Subvidhānaśabdamālāparikrama''
* ''Subantaratnākara'', a commentary on the ''Subvidhānaśabdamālāparikrama''
* An abridged version of the ''Rūpāvatāra''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Monks of Vikramashila]]
[[Category:Monks of Nalanda]]
[[Category:Indian scholars of Buddhism]]
[[Category:11th-century Indian monks]]
[[Category:12th-century Indian monks]]
[[Category:11th-century Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:12th-century Buddhist monks]]

Subhūticandra - Revision history

RoyalEddington6: Creating The Data Initial Version