{{Short description|Buddhist monk and missionary}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox Korean name|hangul=마라난타|hanja=摩羅難陀|rr=Marananta|mr=Maranant'a}}
'''Malananta''' (fl. late 4th century) was an Indian Buddhist monk and missionary who brought Buddhism to the southern Korean peninsula in the 4th century. Multiple romanizations of Malananta's name may be found, including '''Meghananda''' (मेघानंदा), '''Malananda''', '''Maranant'a''' and '''Maalaananda'''. He was among the first to bring Buddhist teaching, or Dharma, to Korea. The Samguk yusa and Samguk yusa record him as the one who brought Buddhism to King Chimnyu of Baekje in 384 CE, along with Sundo in Goguryeo and Ado in Silla.<ref>"Malananta bring Buddhism to Baekje" in ''Samguk Yusa'' III, Ha & Mintz translation, pp. 178-179.</ref><ref name=autogenerated9>{{Citation | last=Kim | first=Won-yong | title=An Early Gilt-bronze Seated Buddha from Seoul | journal=Artibus Asiae | volume=23 | issue=1 | year=1960 | pages=67–71 | doi=10.2307/3248029 | jstor=3248029 }}, pg. 71</ref> Buddhism, a religion originating in what is now India, was transmitted to Korea via China in the late 4th century.<ref name=autogenerated13>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Buddhist Sculpture |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Korea/koreaonline/IntroSculpture.htm |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=2020-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530145726/http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Korea/koreaonline/IntroSculpture.htm|archive-date=2010-05-30}}</ref>
==Name== Multiple romanizations of Mālānanda's name may be found, including '''Marananta''', '''Maranant'a''' and '''Maalaananda'''. An alternative reconstruction of his name is ''Kumāranandin''.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=520}}
==History== Marananta was born in India. Marananta had previously been connected with the region of Gandhara due to a translation error interpreting the word "Zhuqian" to mean "Gandhara of India" when it simply means "India". The connection between Marananta and Gandhara has been described as an "absurd mistake".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rhi |first1=Juhyung |title=Did the Monk Maranant'a Really Come from Gandhāra to Korea |journal=Gandharan Studies |date=2019 |volume=13 |url=https://www.academia.edu/43498610/Did_the_Monk_Marananta_Really_Come_from_Gandhāra_to_Korea}}</ref> He was among the first to bring Buddhism to the Korean Peninsula. The ''Samgungnyusa'' records him as the one who brought Buddhism to Baekje, along with Sundo in Goguryeo and Ado in Silla.<ref>"Malananta bring Buddhism to Baekje" in ''Samguk Yusa'' III, Ha & Mintz translation, pp. 178-179.</ref>
Mālānanda came to Baekje from Jin China in the ninth lunar month of 384, the coronation year of Chimnyu of Baekje.<ref>"Chimnyu-wang," in ''Samguk Sagi'', Baekje Bon-gi 2.</ref> Two months before Mālānanda's arrival, King Chimnyu had sent a tribute mission to the Jin Empire, as was common upon the ascension of Baekje kings in this period. It is possible he was part of an official emissary from Jin China.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=520}}
There are only scant mentions of Marananta in historical records.
==See also==
* Buddhism in Korea * Buddhism in East Asia * Buddhism and Eastern religions * Gyeomik, went to India to study the Vinaya, then founded the Vinaya School in Korea. * Hyecho, Korean monk from Silla who traveled to India. * Dhyānabhadra, Indian monk and translator who went to teach in Korea during Goryeo dynasty. * Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok, Ayodhya * Silk Road transmission of Buddhism * Wang ocheonchukguk jeon
==References== * {{cite book|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert|authorlink1=Robert Buswell Jr.|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S.|authorlink2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fWKngEACAAJ|year=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15786-3}} * {{cite book|last=Nadiem|first=Ihsan H.|authorlink=Ihsan H. Nadiem|title=Buddhist Gandhara: history, art and architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-5tAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publication|isbn=978-969-35-1408-7}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book|title=Samguk Yusa: Legends and history of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea|isbn=89-7141-017-5|author=Ilyon (tr. by Tae-Hung Ha & Grafton K. Mintz)|year=1972|publisher=Yonsei University Press|location=Seoul}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061003110334/http://www.marymount.k12.ny.us/marynet/TeacherResources/SILK%20ROAD/html/korea.htm A detailed article on the history of Korean Buddhism, including multiple images of Korean Buddhist art and a substantial bibliography].
{{Buddhism topics}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Indian Buddhist monks Category:4th-century Indian monks Category:Indian Buddhist missionaries Category:Buddhism in Korea Category:Buddhism in Paekche
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