PHILOSOPHER

Bodhidharma

483 - 540

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Icon of person Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Bodhidharma has received more than 4,004,826 page views. His biography is available in 52 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 51 in 2019). Bodhidharma is the 157th most popular philosopher (down from 112th in 2019), the 22nd most popular biography from India (up from 36th in 2019) and the 5th most popular Indian Philosopher.

Bodhidharma is most famous for being the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism.

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 77.27

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 52

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.82

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.57

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Bodhidharmas by language


Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Bodhidharma ranks 157 out of 1,089. Before him are Louis Althusser, Jakob Böhme, Carl Schmitt, Mikhail Bakhtin, Max Horkheimer, and Adi Shankara. After him are Ernst Cassirer, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Emmanuel Levinas, Marquis de Condorcet, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, and Kabir.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 483, Bodhidharma ranks 1.  Among people deceased in 540, Bodhidharma ranks 1. After him are Wacho, Dignāga, Barsanuphius, Kaleb of Axum, and Amalaberga.

Others Born in 483

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Others Deceased in 540

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In India

Among people born in India, Bodhidharma ranks 22 out of 1,227. Before him are Shivaji (1627), Nagarjuna (150), Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895), Sathya Sai Baba (1926), Chandragupta Maurya (-340), and Adi Shankara (788). After him are Kabir (1440), Aurangzeb (1618), Brahmagupta (598), Rani of Jhansi (1828), Subhas Chandra Bose (1897), and B. R. Ambedkar (1891).

Others born in India

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In India

Among philosophers born in India, Bodhidharma ranks 5. Before him are Ramakrishna (1836), Nagarjuna (150), Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895), and Adi Shankara (788). After him are Kabir (1440), Swami Vivekananda (1863), Sri Aurobindo (1872), Ramana Maharshi (1879), Aśvaghoṣa (80), Ram Mohan Roy (1772), and Paramahansa Yogananda (1893).

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