Narendrayaśas

Narendrayaśas (C. Naliantiliyeshe; J. Narendairiyasha; K. Naryŏnjeriyasa 那連提黎耶舍) (517–589). The Sanskrit proper name of an Indian translator of primarily Mahāyāna Buddhist texts into Chinese. He was active during the Sui dynasty.

Narendrayaśas was originally from Uddiyana in Northern India. In his youth, he undertook a pilgrimage around India, as well as Sri Lanka. He spent a decade at the Veṇuvana monastery, and then traveled north of the Himalayas to propagate Buddhism. He then spent time in Rouran, but moved on to China when the Rouran were defeated by the Göktürks in 552.

He arrived in Ye (鄴) in 556, where he worked from 557–568 at the Tianpingsi 天平寺. During the Northern Zhou persecution of Buddhism, he is said to have continued wearing his monastic robes under lay garb.

The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism states:

Narêndrayaśas was recalled to translation service almost immediately after the founding of the Sui, and from 582, was resident in Daxingshansi 大興善寺 in Chang'an, where he worked until 585. During this period, the team worked on the translation of texts that had been brought back by Baoxian 寶暹, Daosui 道邃, Sengtan 僧曇 and others, who had left the Northern Qi 北齊 in 575 to search for new scriptures in the west, but then been stranded upon the annihilation of the Qi in 577, and taken refuge under the Qaghan (where they had made the acquaintance of *Jñānagupta, who was also in exile there at the same time).

According to the biography of *Jñānagupta/*Jinagupta 闍那崛多 in Daoxuanʼs Xu gaoseng zhuan, around 585, Narêndrayaśas' Chinese collaborators became increasingly troubled by the quality of his translations (翻譯音義乖越, T 2060.50.434a16). In 585, therefore, they recalled *Jñānagupta from his exile under the Qaghans to replace Narêndrayaśas as chief translator.

One reason that Narêndrayaśas has been of interest to modern scholars is the presence in several of his works of various prophecies, which it seems likely were introduced in China in response to Chinese circumstances.

Translations

For a list of works attributed to Narêndrayaśas in the present Taishō, see:

• 那連提耶舍 Nàliántíyéshè, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)

Translated works include:

• Samādhirājasūtra (T 639)
• Mahāmegha(T 991)
• Abhidharmahṛdaya (阿毘曇心論經; T 1551).
  • Not the same as the Abhidharmahṛdaya (C. Apitan xin lun 阿毘曇心論; T 1550)
• Four works from the Mahasamnipata Sutra:
  • Sūryagarbha-vaipulya-sūtra T 397(14)
  • *Candragarbha-vaipulya-sūtra T 397(15)
  • Tathāgataśrīsayama T 397(16)
  • Shifang pusa pin 十方菩薩品 T 397(17)