Their story
Buddhadatta is known mainly through his own works. Their closing verses say he came from Uragapura, probably Uraiyur in the Tamil country, and wrote at monasteries in South India, including one in the port of Kāverīpaṭṭana.
He wrote short, clear handbooks: the Abhidhammāvatāra, an introduction to Abhidhamma, and the Vinayavinicchaya, a verse summary of monastic discipline, as well as a commentary on the Buddhavaṃsa, the verses on the lives of past Buddhas.
A later legend has Buddhadatta and Buddhaghosa meet at sea, one sailing to Sri Lanka and the other returning, and agree to share the work of explaining the teaching.
The world they lived in
In the 5th century, South India had active Theravāda communities in close contact with Sri Lanka, part of a Buddhist world that also included Mahāyāna monks and a thriving trade across the Bay of Bengal.
Their contribution
He made the Mahāvihāra's teaching accessible in compact textbooks for students, a form that later Theravāda scholarship used widely.
Teachings and works
Abhidhammāvatāra (Introduction to the Abhidhamma)
Vinayavinicchaya (Analysis of the Discipline)
Madhuratthavilāsinī
Commentary on the Buddhavaṃsa.
Related teachings
Their legacy
His handbooks were studied for centuries, and his work is evidence of a South Indian branch of Theravāda that has otherwise almost disappeared from memory.
History and tradition
What history can establish
His dates are uncertain. That he was a contemporary of Buddhaghosa is possible but rests largely on the legend of their meeting, found in a much later text.
