Marananta

Marananta
Hangul
마라난타
Hanja
摩羅難陀
Revised RomanizationMarananta
McCune–ReischauerMaranant'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.[1][2] Buddhism, a religion originating in what is now India, was transmitted to Korea via China in the late 4th century.[3]

  1. ^ "Malananta bring Buddhism to Baekje" in Samguk Yusa III, Ha & Mintz translation, pp. 178-179.
  2. ^ Kim, Won-yong (1960), "An Early Gilt-bronze Seated Buddha from Seoul", Artibus Asiae, 23 (1): 67–71, doi:10.2307/3248029, JSTOR 3248029, pg. 71
  3. ^ Arts of Korea | Explore & Learn | The Metropolitan Museum of Art