Prajnatara

Prajnatara, the twenty-seventh and final Indian patriarch before the transmission passed to China, was the teacher of Bodhidharma. He is described in Chan sources as an accomplished master of great depth who recognized Bodhidharma among the sons of a king and perceived immediately his extraordinary capacity. Prajnatara's teaching of Bodhidharma lasted many years, culminating in the full transmission of the patriarchal mind.

Prajnatara is said to have prophesied that Bodhidharma would travel to China and that his teaching there would bear great fruit, though not immediately. He instructed Bodhidharma to wait until his own death before departing, and the timing was precise: Bodhidharma's journey westward across the Himalayas and into China brought the direct transmission of the Chan lineage to East Asia. With Prajnatara, the Indian lineage of twenty-eight patriarchs reached its completion, and a new chapter in the history of awakening began.