Sariputra

INDIA, Bihar

Sariputra was a native of Rajagriha, Magadha in ancient India and lived between the 5th and 4th century BCE. He was intelligent and learned, and became well versed in various commentaries and discourses at an early age. Together with Maudgalyayana, they led 250 disciples to take refuge in the Buddha. The Buddha’s disciple for over 20 years, Sariputra was known for his skills in propagating the Dharma and dissolving doubts. He was praised by the Buddha for his intelligence and was called the “Dharma general,” and among all the disciples, he was known to be the foremost in wisdom. He entered nirvana earlier than the Buddha, and prior to that, he was predicted to be reborn as a future Buddha regarded as the “Magnificent Brilliance Tathagata.”
Sariputra was a skilled architect. At the request of the Buddha, he managed the construction of the well-known Jetavana Monastery in Sravasti. The seven-story Jetavana Monastery was regarded as one of the most magnificent works of architecture.
Throughout China’s caves, such as Mogao Caves, Yulin Caves, and the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, are murals featuring the Battle Between Sariputra and Raudraksa. These illustrations vividly depict Sariputra wisely exercising his supernatural powers to subdue non-Buddhists in order to successfully build the Jetavana Monastery.