The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Nāgārjuna (2nd century CE) is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka School of Buddhism.

For the root verses, the Sanskrit references are for page and line in La Vallée Poussin (1913). The references to the Chinese translation are to page, paragraph and line in T 1564 (translation by Kumārajīva in 409 CE) . The Tibetan references are to page and line in Tg vol. tsa (translation by Jñānagarbha and Klu’i rgyal mtshan, 8. century CE). The English translations presented here are by Streng (1967) and Batchelor (2000), the latter reproduced here with kind permission from the translator.

The commentaries have been arranged in chronological order according to the dates of their authors: Nāgārjuna's (ca. 2. century CE) (or Āryadeva's, 2.-3. century CE) autocommentary Akutobhaya, Piṅgalanetra's (3rd century CE) 中論 (Madhyamakaśāstra), Buddhapālita's (5th-6th century CE) Mūlamadhyamakavṛtti, Bhāvaviveka's (ca. 500-570 CE) Prajñāpradīpa, and Candrakīrti's (ca 600-650 CE) Prasannapadā. Only the last one has been preserved in Sanskrit. Bocking (1995) suggests that the 中論 may have been authored by a Vimalāksa, who was Kumārajīva's old Vinaya-master.

Translation of MŪLAMADHYAMAKAKĀRIKĀS: Fundamentals of the MIDDLE WAY

The Fundamentals of the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamakakārikās) is a series of about 450 mnemonic verses. In the famous commentary Prasannapadā of Candrakīrti, it is divided into twenty-seven chapters of unequal length. There is a development of thought from the first through the twenty-fifth chapter (which may originally have been the final chapter). It is the movement from a rather formal and stylized analysis to an almost impassioned expression of the highest truth. Chapter i inaugurates the critical method which Nāgārjuna will use: prāsaṅga, a logical method of necessary consequence. With this method Nāgārjuna demolishes the theories of elements (dharmas) and of cause until in chaps, xxii (on the tathāgata), xxiv (on the Four Holy Truths), and xxv (on nirvāṇa) there appears a reinterpretation of the most important notions in Buddhism. The logical critique of "cause" in Chapter i is a direct expression of the insight into the emptiness of reality which is emphasized again in Chapter xxv with the declaration that there is no difference between nirvāṇa and samsāra. However, one can note a difference in the handling of this perspective. What is dealt with in logical terms in Chapter i is handled in a way that is practical for attaining release in Chapter xxv.

The different chapters represent the analyses of different elements or "categories" by which much of past Buddhism had understood reality. For instance, Chapters iii-v analyze the traditional classifications of dbarmas: skandhas, āyatanas, and dhātus. In subsequent chapters there is a similar analysis of such notions as "passion," the "past" (pūrva) , "turmoil" (duḥkha) , "impulses of transient existence" (samskāra) , "action" (karma), and the "self" (ātman). Certain topics of special significance, such as "action" and "evil" (kleśa) , are treated in two considerations. The first is a short formal consideration in which the notion is shown to be logically false when considered as a self-existent reality; secondly, there is a more fully developed discussion showing the practical implications for spiritual insight. Special note should also be taken of Chapter ii which is a logical critique of "motion." The method of analysis appears to be rather arid and often simply a play on words, while expressing a minute and systematic rigor. Nevertheless, this method is used as a model of demonstration in other chapters of the Kārikās, so it cannot be disregarded. The facetious appearance of the argument is instructive since it seeks to point out the vulnerability of the effort in the Abhidharma which took so seriously the task of classifying and defining the elements of existence.

(Streng 1967, 181-182)

Introduction by Sengrui 釋僧 (352-463?; student of Kumārajīva) to the Chinese commentary, in T.1564

(1a5)釋僧叡序(6)中論有五百偈。龍樹菩薩之所造也以中爲(7)名者。照其實也。以論爲稱者。盡其言也。(8)實非名不悟。故寄中以宣之。言非釋不(9)盡。故假論以明之。其實既宣。其言既明。於(10)菩薩之行道場之照。朗然懸解矣。夫滯惑生(11)於倒見。三界以之而淪溺。偏悟起於厭智。(12)耿介以之而致乖。故知大覺在乎曠照。小(13)智纒乎隘心。照之不曠。則不足以夷有(14)無一道俗。知之不盡。則未可以渉中途(15)泯二際。道俗之不夷。二際之不泯。菩薩之(16)憂也。是以龍樹大士。析之以中道。使惑趣(17)之徒望玄指而一變。括之以即化。令玄悟(18)之賓喪諮詢於朝徹。蕩蕩焉。眞可謂坦夷(19)路於沖階。敝玄門於宇内。扇慧風於陳枚。(20)流甘露於枯悴者矣。夫百梁之搆興。則鄙(21)茅茨之仄陋。覩斯論之宏曠。則知偏悟之(22)鄙倍。幸哉此區之赤縣。忽得移靈鷲以作(23)鎭。險陂之邊情。乃蒙流光之餘惠。而今而(24)後。談道之賢始可與論實矣。云天竺諸國。(25)敢預學者之流。無不翫味斯論以爲喉(26)衿。其染翰申釋者。甚亦不少。今所出者。(27)是天竺梵志名賓伽羅。秦言青目之所釋(28)也。其人雖信解深法。而辭不雅中。其中乖(29)闕煩重者。法師皆裁而裨之。於經通之理(1b1)盡矣。文或左右未盡善也。百論治外以閑(2)邪。斯文袪内以流滯。大智釋論之淵博。十(3)二門觀之精詣。尋斯四者。眞若日月入懷(4)無不朗然鑒徹矣。予翫之味之不能釋(5)手。遂復忘其鄙拙。託悟懷於一序。并目品(6)義題之於首。豈期能釋耶。蓋是欣自同之(7)懷耳

Batchellor, Stephen (2000), Verses from the Centre, Sharpham College, www.stephenbatchelor.org/verses2.htm (18. April, 2010).

Jñānagarbha and Klu’i rgyal mtshan, dBu ma rtsa ba'i 'grel pa ga las 'jigs med (Mūlamadhyamakavṛttyakutobhaya), Nāgārjuna's (or Āryadeva?) auto-commentary to the Mmk, Tg 3829, vol tsa, 29b1-99a7.

Jñānagarbha and Klu’i rgyal mtshan, dBu ma rtsa ba'i 'grel pa buddha pā li ta (Buddhapālitamūlamadhyamakavṛtti), Buddhapālita's commentary on the Mmk, Tg 3842, dBu ma, vol tsa, 158b1-281a4.

Jñānagarbha and Klu’i rgyal mtshan, dBu ma'i rtsa ba'i 'grel pa śes rab sgron ma (Prajñāpradīpamūlamadhyamakavṛtti), Bhāvaviveka's commentary to the Mmk, Tg 3853, dBu ma, tsha, 45b4-259b2.

Jñānagarbha and Klu’i rgyal mtshan (revised by Sumati, Pa tshab ñi ma grags, Kanaka, and De ñid), "dbu ma rtsa ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa" (Tibetan translation of Mmk), in Tg, vol. tsa, 1a1-19a6.

Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什, "Zhōnglùn" 中論 , in T, 1564 1a3-36c24; verses extracted from commentary on Mmk.

Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什, "Zhōnglùn" 中論 (Commentary on the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Piṅgalanetra), in T, 1564 1a4-39c1.

La Vallée Poussin, Louis de (1913), Mūlamadhyamakakārikās (Mādhyamikasūtras) de Nāgārjuna avec la Prasannapadā Commentaire de Candrakīrti, Imprimerie de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences, St. Petersburg.

Streng, Frederick J. (1967), A Study in Religious Meaning, Abingdon Press, Nashville.

Vaidya, P.L. (1960), Madhyamakaśāstra of Nāgārjuna, with the Commentary: Prasannapadā by Candrakīrti, Darbhaga (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, 10).

Input by Fredrik Liland, Oslo 2010-2022.

We would like to thank ACIP, CBETA and GRETIL for providing electronic texts.