ŚĀNTIDEVA (seventh and eighth centuries CE) was an Indian Buddhist monk and scholar at the great Buddhist monastic center of Nālandā in northern India. He was a follower of Mahāyāna Buddhism and has been traditionally associated with the Mādhyamika philosophical lineage, especially that of the Prāsaṅgikas, although his precise philosophical affiliation remains a matter of debate among scholars. Śāntideva is famous for his eloquent Sanskrit treatises on the Mahāyāna bodhisattva ideal.

Sanskrit and Tibetan biographies portray Śāntideva as both a Mahāyāna monk renowned for the composition of erudite texts and a Tantric siddha noted for performing miracles. For this reason, some scholars have speculated that his biography may represent an amalgamation of two different persons. According to his biographies, Śāntideva was a crown prince and devotee of Mañjuśrī or Ma...