Śubhakarasiṃha (善無畏 Shàn Wúwèi, 637–735) — first of the three great Tang Esoteric masters (開元三大士: Śubhakarasiṃha 善無畏, Vajrabodhi 金剛智 金剛智, and Amoghavajra 不空 不空) and traditional founder of the Garbhadhātu (胎藏界, Womb-realm) transmission lineage in China. Indian by birth (中天竺), reputedly a member of the royal house of Oḍra (烏荼國 in Orissa) who renounced the throne; took ordination at Nālandā, where he studied under the master Dharmagupta 達摩掬多 and received the full Esoteric initiations.
He arrived at Chángān in 716 (Kāiyuán 4) bearing Sanskrit manuscripts. After audiences with Emperor Xuánzōng 玄宗, he was installed at the imperial Xīngfúsì 興福寺 and Xīmíngsì 西明寺. From 717 he produced his great translation programme at the Pútíyuàn 菩提院 and other sites, principally:
- Dà Pílúzhēnà chéngfó shénbiàn jiāchí jīng 大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經 (KR6j0001, T18n0848) — the Mahāvairocanasūtra (Dànichikyō 大日經), the foundational scripture of the Tang Esoteric Garbhadhātu tradition. Translated 724/725 with the assistance of his Chinese disciple Yīxíng 一行 一行.
- Sūxídì jiéluó jīng 蘇悉地羯羅經 (T18n0893) — a key kriyā-yoga text.
- Sūpóhū tóngzǐ qǐngwèn jīng 蘇婆呼童子請問經 (T18n0895) — another kriyā / vidyā text.
His most consequential single act of doctrinal transmission was the oral exposition of the Mahāvairocanasūtra recorded by Yīxíng 一行 as the Dà Pílúzhēnà jīng shū 大毘盧遮那經疏 (T39n1796) — the Dàrìjīng shū 大日經疏, the foundational Esoteric commentary of the Garbhadhātu lineage that became the doctrinal cornerstone of the Shingon 真言 school in Japan via Kūkai 空海 空海.
He died at Chángān in Kāiyuán 23 / 11th month / 7th day = 735 CE, in his 99th year (per the Sòng Gāosēngzhuàn T50n2061). His tomb is at the Lóngmén 龍門 grottoes complex.
His Esoteric lineage in China (via Yīxíng) was continued in Japan as the Tōmitsu 東密 (Shingon) and Taimitsu 台密 (Tendai-Esoteric) traditions; the Garbhadhātu mandala iconography preserved at Tō-ji 東寺 is held to derive ultimately from his transmission.
Source: DILA Buddhist Person Authority A001342; Sòng Gāosēngzhuàn 宋高僧傳 fasc. 2 (T50n2061_p0714b–p0716a); Chou Yi-liang, “Tantrism in China,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 8 (1945): 241–332; Charles Orzech, Henrik Sørensen, Richard Payne (eds.), Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia (Brill, 2011), §III.