Kapimala

Kapimala is the thirteenth patriarch in the Chan list, named in the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù* as the disciple of Aśvaghoṣa and the teacher of Nāgārjuna^[1]. The historical basis for the figure is uncertain. He appears in some Sarvāstivādin traditions as a brahmin philosopher of southern India whom Aśvaghoṣa converted by argument; the conversion narrative parallels Aśvaghoṣa's own conversion by Pārśva^[2]. He is associated with the spread of Buddhism into southern India and with the recognition of Nāgārjuna as his successor.

Dumoulin observes that Kapimala functions in the lineage as a hinge between the northern Sarvāstivādin scholastic tradition associated with Aśvaghoṣa and the southern Mahāyāna milieu in which Nāgārjuna would emerge^[3]. Whether Kapimala is a single historical person or a name absorbing several traditions cannot now be determined.