Mahakatyayana (6th century BCE) - महाकात्यायन - Mahākātyāyana - Mahākaccāna - ཀ་ཏྱའི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ། ka tya'i bu chen po katyai bu chenpo - 摩訶迦旃延 摩诃迦旃延, Móhējiāzhānyán - 마하가전연 Mahagajeonyeon - 摩訶迦旃延 Makakasennen - Mahākātyāyana
Mahakatyayana (महाकात्यायन - Mahākātyāyana; ཀ་ཏྱཱ་ཡ་ན་ཆེན་པོ། ka tyA ya na chen po Katyayana Chenpo) was one of the ten principal disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha and is revered throughout the Buddhist tradition as the disciple foremost in explaining brief statements in full detail. Born into a prestigious Brahmin family in Ujjayini in the western region of Avanti in ancient India during the 6th century BCE, his exact year of birth and year of death are not definitively recorded in historical archives, though he lived and taught through the 5th century BCE. Serving as the royal chaplain to King Chandapradyota, he was dispatched to invite the Buddha to Avanti, where he heard the Dharma taught directly by Shakyamuni, immediately took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and swiftly achieved full awakening and liberation from karma and samsara.
Within the monastic Sangha, Mahakatyayana became famous for his analytical wisdom, skillful means, and ability to unpack concise verses on the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, and the Middle Way into comprehensive discourses. His famous exposition on eliminating mental proliferation, known as the Madhupindika Sutra, is preserved in the Chinese Tripitaka as Taisho Number 26 and parallels philosophical analyses found in the Tibetan Tripitaka such as Toh Number 3836, while his dialogue on right view in the Kaccayanagotta Sutta is preserved in Taisho Number 99. Practicing strict ethical conduct, mindfulness, and non-attachment, he returned to his remote homeland of Avanti where monastics were scarce, successfully spreading the Noble Eightfold Path and guiding many beings toward nirvana and freedom from dukkha before peacefully passing into parinirvana.