Nagarjuna is traditionally associated with founding the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism.
Madhyamaka, meaning “Middle Way,” developed around the idea that phenomena lack independent, permanent existence. Nagarjuna’s most influential work is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, or Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, which uses rigorous argument to examine concepts such as causation, identity, and emptiness.
His philosophy is closely connected with the Mahayana Buddhist concept of shunyata, usually translated as emptiness. Emptiness does not simply mean that nothing exists; it refers to the lack of intrinsic existence and the dependent nature of phenomena.
Traditional biographies place Nagarjuna in India, probably around the second or third century CE, although exact dates remain uncertain. He is distinct from Asanga and Vasubandhu, who are associated with Yogacara, and from Buddhaghosa, a later commentator linked with Theravada scholarship.