Rahulata

Rahulata, the sixteenth patriarch, was a disciple of Aryadeva who continued the Indian lineage in the northwestern regions of the subcontinent. His name may evoke Rahula, the son of the historical Buddha, suggesting a sense of intimate inheritance. He is remembered as a teacher who transmitted the direct pointing of the Madhyamaka insight without reducing it to mere philosophical abstraction.

The Chan tradition values Rahulata as a bridge between the great philosophical figures of the Indian lineage and the less-documented teachers who maintained the transmission through periods of relative obscurity. He transmitted to Sanghanandi, and the lineage continued its journey through India and eventually toward China.