Who Is Bodhidharma? The Buddhist Monk From Tamil Nadu Revered In China And Japan

Last Updated:August 29, 2025, 19:10 IST

Bodhidharma is a revered figure in both China and Japan as the undisputed founder of Zen Buddhism -- known as Chan in China -- and is credited with its introduction to China

An Korean artist's impression of Indian monk Bodhidharma, known as Daruma in Japan; (right) PM Narendra Modi being presented a Daruma doll in Tokyo, Japan, on August 29. (Image: AFP/PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received a Daruma doll during his official visit to Japan, as a special gesture reaffirming the close civilisational and spiritual ties between India and Japan.

According to the ministry of external affairs (MEA), the Daruma doll is considered auspicious and a good luck charm in Japanese culture. Modi met Rev Seishi Hirose, who is the chief priest of the Shorinzan Daruma-Ji temple in Takasaki-Gunma.

Takasaki in Japan’s Gunma prefecture is the birthplace of the famous Daruma dolls, a tradition based on the legacy of Bodhidharma. Here’s where it gets interesting.

Bodhidharma was an Indian monk from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, who is known as Daruma Daishi in Japan and is said to have travelled to the island nation a thousand years ago.

What is more interesting, however, is that he is a revered figure in both China and Japan as the undisputed founder of Zen Buddhism and is credited with Zen’s introduction to China during his travels. While history books give details of the Gautama Buddha and Buddhism, they hardly mention him and his massive contribution as an Indian Buddhist monk.

MAHAYANA ICON, FOUNDER OF ZEN, LINKED TO SHAOLIN KUNG FU

An icon in the Mahayana tradition – the largest form of Buddhism whose spiritual model is the bodhisattva –  Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch of this form in India and also the first in China, where he went to preach.

Historical records show that the Indian monk from Tamil Nadu lived in the fifth or sixth century AD. Traditionally credited as the founder of Zen Buddhism – known as Chan in China and Zen in Japan – he is also linked to the Shaolin temple and the origins of martial arts there.

Legend places the origins of the Shaolin tradition at 495 AD, when the emperor Xiaowen is said to have ordered the construction of a temple, deep in a mountain forest, in honour of a wandering Indian monk named Batuo.

Around 30 years later, Bodhidharma arrived and spent nine years meditating in a nearby cave before teaching the monks Zen Buddhism and the beginnings of what would become Shaolin kung fu.

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) in Chennai has installed a Bodhi Dharma Center for Indian Philosophy in Kanchipuram, from where his roots can be traced. The website of the institute describes him as “an Indian Buddhist monk who came to China (East land) from India (West land) in the first quarter of the sixth century. He brought Mahayana Buddhism to China".

A SOUTH INDIAN PRINCE?

Was Bodhidharma also a prince like Gautama Buddha, whose previous identity was Siddhartha Gautama, a Shakya prince who renounced his home life? 

Many modern interpretations, especially in India, often identify him as Tamil and some Indian scholars even claim that he was born Bodhivarman, a prince from the Pallava dynasty. While his roots can be traced back to Kanchipuram or the Chennai region, Chinese records are vague about his exact origin. He is, however, revered in Tamil literary and folk traditions in parts of south India.

While this is widely debated in academic circles, the IAS website states that he was “born as the third prince of a kingdom of south India".

“Coming to China, he stayed nine years at the Shao-lin Temple, located east of Luo-yang of He-nan Province. Bodhi-Dharma is well-known in connection to a story expressed by the phrase ‘Wall Contemplation Nine Years’. From the philosophy and practice represented by this phrase, the Chinese Zen Buddhism originated and developed in ensuing generations," the website states.

It states that Zen Buddhism brought about “revolutionary changes and enlightenment in the culture and lives of not only practitioners but also ordinary people in east Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other countries".

Oindrila Mukherjee

Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st...Read More

Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st...

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August 29, 2025, 19:10 IST

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