We hope that the many of you people are aware of the Bodhi Dharma who is being treated like a God by the Chinese people. Originally, he belongs to South India and some people argue that he is a resident of the Telugu state. Since A.R. Murugadoss directs the ‘Seventh Sense’ movie 99% of the Indians were unaware of this legend.
During this COVID-19 pandemic many people are showing interest in knowing his history. Bodhi Dharma’s real name is Dharma Varma and he belongs to Kshatriya family. He is said to be the 3rd king of the Pallava dynasty which ruled the Telugu states.
According to some people, when he met a Raj Guru name PragnyaTara, he left his kingdom and chosen a spiritual path. Later, on the orders of his Guru, he reached China through sea route to spread the principles of Buddhism. He was 67-years old when he reached China and he was considered as an avatar of Buddha by the Chinese.
Chinese people learned all the martial arts, medical science and literature from the Bodhi Dharma and he taught them ‘chan Buddhism’ with Indian principles. The infamous ‘Shaolin Kungfu’ is also said to be the one which is was learned from Bodhi Dharma.
When it was time for him to return India, one of his disciples poisoned his food when he believed that his cremation in their land will do a world of good for his country. Bodhi Dharma died in his 176th year, as the Chinese say.
Astonishingly there is another story that argues that Bodhi Dharma is still alive. According to it, a Chinese soldier once say Bodhi Dharma with a shoe in his hand at the Chinese border. When he informed his officials about the same, they did dug his grave out only to find a shoe in it. That made them believe that Bodhi Dharma is immortal and he is still alive.