Shabar Pa

Shabar Pa (8th century) sahajiy'a Buddhist monk and one of the poets of charyapada. The chary'a'pada has two poems (28 and 50) by Shabar Pa which describe the outfit of the non-Aryan hunter (shabar), couples living in forests, their love and union, drinking, intoxicated dance, tragedy caused by death etc. Such details indicate that the poet lived in a hilly area and was a hunter. Later, he underwent a course of studies under a preceptor and after reaching enlightenment was elevated to the status of a guru.

Some accounts say that Nagarjuna was the guru of Shabar Pa, while others say that Saraha Pa was his guru and Lui Pa his disciple. It is thought that Shabar Pa was Bangla-speaking and a resident of Vikramsila. He wrote several books in sanskrit. His three books mentioned in the Tengur Catalogue are Vajrayogin'i' S'a'dhan'a, Mah'a'mudr'a'vajrag'i'ti, and Chittaguhya Gambh'i'r'a'rthag'i'ti. In addition, his books on meditation mention two other books: Sitakurukull'a' S'a'dhaka and Vajrayogin'i' 'A'r'a'dhan'a'vidhi; these are on vajrayana (Indra';s carriage). There are many other volumes attributed to Shabar Pa, which has led some to believe that there were more than one people by the same name. [Wakil Ahmed] [Ahmed, Wakil former Vice Chancellor, National University]