Mahasiddhas

Nāgārjuna (, ; ) was an Indian philosopher and Mahāyāna Buddhist monk of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. Nāgārjuna is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers. He was the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement. His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today.

thumb|238px|A famous statue of Milarepa self made by Milerapa's root student Bhu Rechungpa which later belonged to Nyanang Phelgyeling Monastery, Tibet and now is in Phelgyeling Monastery, Nepal. Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan , who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in th

Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also lists Shantideva as one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and is known as Bhusuku Pa (布苏固巴).

Tibetan Buddhist teacher

right|275px|thumb|Aryadeva

Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: Gorakṣanātha) (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India. He is considered one of the two disciples of Matsyendranath. His followers are known as Jogi, Gorakhnathi, Darshani or Kanphata.

right|thumb|200px|Tilopa.

Nāropā (c. 1016 - 1100 CE) (Prakrit; , Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa's instructions inform Vajrayana, particularly his six yogas of Naropa relevant to the completion stage of anuttarayogatantra. He was also one of the "gatekeepers" of Vikramashila monastery and was also associated with Nalanda monastery where he rose to the position of abbot.

Matsyendranātha, also known as Matsyendra, Macchindranāth, Mīnanātha and Minapa (fl. early 10th century) was a saint and yogi in a number of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. He is considered the revivalist of hatha yoga as well as the author of some of its earliest texts. He is also seen as the founder of the natha sampradaya, having received the teachings from Shiva. He is associated with Kaula Shaivism. He is also one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and considered the guru of Gorakshanath, another known figure in early hatha yoga. He is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists and is sometimes rega

thumb|255px|Four Mahasiddhas (18th century, Boston MFA). Saraha in top left, Dombhi Heruka top right, [[Naropa bottom left, and Virupa bottom right.]]

right|thumb|200px|A contemporary bronze image of Saraha holding an arrow, probably made in Nepal (arte Newar)

thumb|Virūpa, 16th century. It depicts a famous episode in his hagiography when he stopped the sun in the sky. Virupa (; Tib. bi ru pa or bir wa pa, ), also known as Virupaksa and Tutop Wangchuk, was an 8th–9th century Indian mahasiddha and yogi, and the source of important cycles of teachings in Vajrayana Buddhism.

Maitrīpāda ( 1007–1085, also known as Maitreyanātha, Advayavajra, and, to Tibetans, Maitrīpa), was a prominent Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha associated with the Mahāmudrā transmission of tantric Buddhism. His teachers were Shavaripa and Naropa. His students include Atisha, Marpa, Vajrapani, Karopa, Natekara (also known as Sahajavajra), Devākaracandra (also known as Śūnyatāsamādhi), and Rāmapāla. His hermitage was in the Mithila region (also known as Tirhut), somewhere in northern Bihar and neighboring parts of southern Nepal.

thumb|Kukkuripa Kukkuripa was a mahasiddha who lived in India. He became interested in tantric Buddhist practice, and chose the path of renunciation. During his travels, he found a starving dog in a bush. Moved by compassion, he fed the dog and took care of her. The two stayed together and eventually found a cave where Kukkuripa could meditate in peace. When he went out for food, the dog would stay and guard the cave.

Tibetan Buddhist yogi and poet

Indrabhuti (alternatively King Ja) is a name attributed to a number of individuals that have become conflated in Vajrayana Buddhism. One Indrabhuti, considered a Mahasiddha, was a disciple of Lawapa.

Luipa or Luipada (c. 10th century) was a mahasiddha siddhacharya from Eastern India. He was a Buddhist saint from the Kãivartā community. He was a writer of a number of Buddhist texts and one of the early poets of Charyapada, a late Apabhraṃśa collection of poems.

Buddhist yogi

Shavaripa (Sanskrit: Śabara) was an Indian Buddhist teacher, one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas, honored as being among the holders of the distant transmission of Mahamudra. He was a student of Nagarjuna and a teacher of Maitripa. He is one of the forefathers of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Shavaripa is loosely related to the goddess Parnashavari and Janguli by relationship of the Shavari tribe of north-east India.

Kānhapā, Kanha or Kanhapada or Krishnacharya ( c 10th century AD) was one of the main poets of Charyapada, the earliest known example of Assamese, Bengali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Odia literature. He was a tantric Buddhist and a disciplle of Jalandhar.Page21 Kanhapada is also a prominent siddhacharya to Nath Sampradaya after Matsyendranatha and Gorakhnath. His poems in Charjyapad are written in a code, whereby every poem has a descriptive or narrative surface meaning but also encodes tantric Buddhist teachings. Some experts believe this was to conceal sacred knowledge from the uninitiated.

Ratnākaraśānti (also known as Ratnākara, Śāntipa, and Śānti) (late 10th-century CE to mid 11th-century CE) was an influential Buddhist philosopher and vajrayana tantric adept and scholar. He was the "gate scholar" of Vikramaśilā university's eastern gate (modern-day Bihar in India), a key post in the university's leadership. Ratnākara was known by the title kalikālasarvajña ("the Omniscient One of the Degenerate Age") and is depicted as one of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas (great yogic masters).

Lawapa or Lavapa () was a figure in Tibetan Buddhism who flourished in the 10th century. He was also known as Kambala and Kambalapada (Sanskrit: ). Lawapa, was a mahasiddha, or accomplished yogi, who travelled to Tsari. Lawapa was a progenitor of the Dream Yoga sādhanā and it was from Lawapa that the mahasiddha Tilopa received the Dream Yoga practice lineage.

author of Charyapada