Question

Explain the life history of Patanjali and Nagarjuna?

Answer 1

Hint:-The life history of Patanjali and Nagarjuna is a very important part of Indian culture and history. Both of them were well known legends of their time, and their works are still acknowledged and followed worldwide.

Complete step-by-step solution:-
- Life history of Patanjali – No birth records of Maharishi Patanjali are available but it is said that he fell into the hands of his mother, thus got his name ‘Patanjali’, which is derived from Hindi words ‘pat’ means ‘leaf’ and ‘anjali’ means joining palms of the hands’. He introduced first Yoga Sutra and is also known as the father of Yoga. He gave 195 yoga sutras which are considered as the backbone of Yoga followed today. He taught a way to follow a healthy lifestyle through yoga. His core teaching is the eightfold path of yoga in which all the eight elements are the universal commandants for all human beings. Yoga not only empowers the body but also mind as well as all the actions and reactions of human beings.
- Life history of Nagarjuna – Nagarjuna is a famous Buddhist philosopher, metallurgist and alchemist. He was born in Gujarat in the 7th or 8th century. Originally, he was from South India. Later in his life, he moved to Sri Parvata and started following Buddhism. He wrote the treatises of Rasaratnakara, Rasendra Mangalam, and Rashrudaya which involves the procedures to prepare mercury. He also wrote about extraction and purification processes of many metals such as gold, copper, silver, tin, etc. He wrote about ayurvedic medicines and drugs in his treatise, Arogya Manjari.

Note:-
- Maharishi Patanjali is thought to be the avatar of AdiShesha, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu rests. He is also known for redefining Sanskrit Grammar.
- Nagarjuna was known for his versatile knowledge, and for this reason he was appointed as the chancellor of University of Nalanda.