Marananta

Mālānanda (Marananta in Korean) was a pakistani (then Indian) Buddhist monk from Gandhara, in modern-day Pakistan, who brought Buddhism to the southern Korean Peninsula in the fourth century CE.

Name

Multiple romanizations of Mālānanda's name may be found, including Marananta, Maranant'a and Maalaananda. An alternative reconstruction of his name is Kumāranandin.

History

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.

Mālānanda came to Baekje from Jin China in the ninth lunar month of 384, the coronation year of Chimnyu of Baekje. 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.

There are only scant mentions of Marananta in historical records.

References

• Ilyon (tr. by Tae-Hung Ha & Grafton K. Mintz). Samguk Yusa: Legends and history of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Seoul: Yonsei University Press. ISBN 89-7141-017-5.