Abhayadatta Sri

{{Short description|12th-century Indian Buddhist monk}}

Abhayadatta Sri (also known as Abhayadattaśrī or Abhayadāna) was a 12th-century Indian Buddhist monk notable for composing the Caturaśītisiddhapravrtti (the lives of the eighty-four mahasiddhas) which detailed the backgrounds of the mahasiddhas who were tantric masters. His work was later translated into Tibetan.{{cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Donald |last2=Buswell |first2=Robert |title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691157863 |page=2}}{{cite book|author=Miranda Shaw|title=Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dahS9CHLfXoC&pg=PA77|year=1994|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01090-0|pages=77–}} His story on the lives of the mahasiddhas was influential in showing their highly unconventional paths to achieving realization.

He was a native of Campara which has been identified with modern day Champaran district in Bihar, India.{{cite book|author=Keith Dowman|title=Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_cGIppWCeYC|date=31 March 2010|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0148-5}} He was also a disciple of Vajrasana who was one of the last great siddhas of the eleventh century.{{cite book|author=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.|title=Seeing the Sacred in Samsara: An Illustrated Guide to the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emWMDwAAQBAJ|date=28 May 2019|publisher=Shambhala|isbn=978-0-8348-4212-0}}