Na^ga^rjuna （150-250）， an eminent Buddhist logician who was instrumental in the early establishment of Indian Maha^ya^na. He was born in southern India， and was initially a scholar of brahmanistic texts， but later converted to Buddhism. He first studied the various Nika^ya doctrines along with early Maha^ya^na. He would end up leaning toward the latter， conducting extensive study on the various sutras. Based on his extensive study and ardent meditation practice he composed a number of influential texts， most important of which was the Ma^dhyamaka-ka^rika^ 中论 （Memorial Verses on the Middle Way）， which contains the essentials of his thought in twenty-seven short chapters. He is also considered to be the author of the Maha^ya^na-vim/ska （Twenty Verses on the Maha^ya^na） and of the Dva^da/sdva^ra-/sa^stra 十二门论 （Treatise of the Twelve Gates）. His writings were the basis for the formation of the Ma^dhyamika （Middle Way 中观派） school， which was transmitted to China under the name of the Three Treatise （Sanlun） School 三论宗.