Mahadeva (Buddhism)

Mahādeva (Sanskrit: महादेव; Chinese: 大天; pinyin: Dàtiān) is a controversial figure who appears in various roles in the histories of the early Buddhist schools.

Various sources present Mahādeva as playing different roles, and the historical existence of such a person is often criticized. In sources deriving from the Sthaviravāda branch, he is taken to be the founder of the Mahāsāṃghikas, and the figure who caused the split between the two branches. According to this account, some 35 years after the Second Buddhist Council at Pāṭaliputra, there was another meeting over five points allegedly held by a figure named Mahādeva. These five points were essentially regarding doctrines of the fallibility and imperfection of arhats, which were opposed by some. In this account, the majority (Mahāsaṃgha) sided with Mahādeva, and the minority (Sthaviras) were opposed to it, thus causing a split in the Saṃgha.

However, scholars have generally agreed that the matter of dispute was a matter of vinaya instead. In the earliest account, the council was convened at Pāṭaliputra over matters of vinaya, and it is explained that the schism resulted from the majority (Mahāsaṃgha) refusing to accept the addition of rules to the Vinaya by the minority (Sthaviras). This account is bolstered by the vinaya texts themselves, as vinayas associated with the Sthaviras do contain more rules than those of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. For example, the Mahāsāṃghika Prātimokṣa has 67 rules in the śaikṣa-dharma section, while the Theravāda version has 75 rules. Modern scholarship is generally in agreement that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya is the oldest. Joseph Walser concludes that this Mahādeva was most likely a literary figure.

The Samayabhedoparacanacakra records that Mahādeva was a completely different figure who was the founder of the Caitika sect over 100 years later. A number of scholars have concluded that an association of "Mahādeva" with the first schism was a later sectarian interpolation. Jan Nattier and Charles Prebish state that Mahādeva was the later founder of the Caitikas, stating:

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