Eighty-four mahasiddhas

Eighty-four mahasiddhas (Skt. caturaśītisiddha; Wyl. grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi) — eighty (or eighty four) great siddhas of ancient India whose lives have been recounted by Abhayadatta. By alphabetical order:

1. Achinta or Achintapa, the 'Avaricious Hermit';
2. Ajogi or Ayogipa, the 'Rejected Wastrel';
3. Anangapa, Ananga or Anangavajra, the 'Handsome Fool';
4. Aryadeva, the 'Lotus-Born' or the 'One-Eyed';
5. Babhaha, the 'Free Lover';
6. Bhadrapa, the 'Snob' or the 'Exclusive Brahmin';
7. Bhandepa, the 'Envious God';
8. Bhiksanapa, 'Siddha Two-Teeth';
9. Bhusuku or Bhusukupada, the 'Lazy Monk' or the 'Idle Monk';
10. Camaripa, the 'Divine Cobbler';
11. Campaka or Campakapada, the 'Flower King';
12. Carbaripa or Carpati, 'Who Turned People to Stone' or 'the Petrifyer';
13. Catrapa, the 'Lucky Beggar';
14. Caurangipa, the 'Limbless One' or 'the Dismembered Stepson';
15. Celukapa, the 'Revitalized Drone';
16. Darikapa, the 'Slave-King of the Temple Whore';
17. Dengipa, the 'Courtesan's Brahmin Slave';
18. Dhahulipa, the 'Blistered Rope-Maker';
19. Dharmapa, the 'Eternal Student' (c.900 CE);
20. Dhilipa, the 'Epicurean Merchant';
21. Dhobipa, the 'Wise Washerman';
22. Dhokaripa, the 'Bowl-Bearer';
23. Dombi Heruka, the 'Tiger Rider';
24. Dukhandi, the 'Scavenger';
25. Ghantapa, the 'Celibate Monk' or the 'Celibate Bell-Ringer';
26. Gharbari or Gharbaripa, the 'Contrite Scholar' (Skt. pandita)
27. Godhuripa or Gorura, the 'Bird Catcher';
28. Goraksa, Gorakhnath or Goraksha, the 'Immortal Cowherd';
29. Indrabhuti, (his teachings disseminated to Tilopa);
30. Jalandhara, the 'Dakini's Chosen One';
31. Jayananda, the 'Crow Master';
32. Jogipa, the 'Siddha Pilgrim';
33. Kalapa, the 'Handsome Madman';
34. Kamparipa, the 'Blacksmith';
35. Kambala, the 'Yogin of the Black Blanket' (or the 'Black-Blanket-Clad Yogin');
36. Kanakhala, the younger of the two Headless Sisters or Severed-Headed Sisters;
37. Kanha or Kanhapa, the 'Dark-Skinned One' (or the 'Dark Siddha');
38. Kankana, the 'Siddha-King';
39. Kankaripa, the 'Lovelorn Widower';
40. Kantalipa, the 'Rag Picker' (or the 'Ragman-Tailor');
41. Kapalapa, the 'Skull Bearer';
42. Khadgapa, the 'Master Thief' (or the 'Fearless Thief');
43. Kilakilapa, the 'Exiled Loud-Mouth';
44. Kirapalapa, the 'Repentant Conqueror';
45. Kokilipa, the 'Complacent Aesthete';
46. Kotalipa, the 'Peasant Guru';
47. Kuchipa, the 'Goitre-Necked Yogin';
48. Kukkuripa, the 'Dog Lover';
49. Kumbharipa, 'the Potter';
50. Laksminkara, 'The Mad Princess';
51. Lilapa, the 'Royal Hedonist';
52. Luchikapa, the 'Escapist';
53. Luyipa, the 'Fish-Gut Eater';
54. Mahipa, the 'Greatest';
55. Manibhadra, the 'Model Wife' or the 'Happy Housewife';
56. Medhini, the 'Tired Farmer';
57. Mekhala, the elder of the two Headless Sisters or Severed-Headed Sisters;
58. Mekopa, the 'Wild-Eyed Guru' (or the 'Guru Dread-Stare');
59. Minapa, the 'Fisherman';
60. Nagabodhi, the 'Red-Horned Thief';
61. Nagarjuna;
62. Nalinapa, the 'Self-Reliant Prince';
63. Naropa;
64. Nirgunapa, the 'Enlightened Moron';
65. Pacharipa, the 'Pastrycook';
66. Pankajapa, the 'Lotus-Born Brahmin';
67. Putalipa, the 'Mendicant Icon-Bearer';
68. Rahula, the 'Rejuvenated Dotard';
69. Saraha, the 'Arrow Maker';
70. Sakara;
71. Samudra, the 'Pearl Diver';
72. Shantipa, the 'Academic' (or the 'Complacent Missionary')
73. Sarvabhaksa, the 'Empty-Bellied Siddha' (or the 'Glutton');
74. Shavaripa, the 'Hunter';
75. Shalipa, the 'Jackal Yogin';
76. Tantepa, the 'Gambler';
77. Tantipa, the 'Senile Weaver';
78. Thaganapa, the 'Compulsive Liar';
79. Tilopa;
80. Udhilipa, the 'Flying Siddha' (the 'Bird-Man');
81. Upanaha, the 'Bootmaker';
82. Vinapa, the 'Music Lover', the 'Musician';
83. Virupa;
84. Vyalipa, the 'Courtesan's Alchemist'.

Further Reading

• Abhayadatta, Buddha's Lions: Lives of the Eighty-four Siddhas, translated by James B. Robinson (Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1979).
• Keith Dowman
  • Buddhist Masters of Enchantment: The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas (Rochester: Inner Traditions, 1998)
  • Masters of Mahāmudrā: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-four Buddhist Siddhas (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1986)

External Links

• Mahasiddha Outline page on Himalayan Art