Bauddha Rishi Mahapragya

Bauddha Rishi Mahapragya (Nepali: बौद्धऋषि महाप्रज्ञा; born Nani Kaji Shrestha; 21 May 1901 – 1979) was one of the most influential figures in the revival of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal in the 1920s.

[3] Mahapragya was born at Lhugah (ल्हूघ:) in Kathmandu to father Kul Narayan and mother Hira Maya Shrestha.

They then moved to Kolkata, and Mahapragya decided to travel to Tibet with Tsering Norbu to learn Buddhism.

[5] In Lhasa, Mahapragya met Kul Man Singh Tuladhar whom he convinced to become a Tibetan monk.

Mahapragya and Kul Man Singh, now known as Karmasheel, wandered around Tibet and then went to Kushinagar, India in 1928 where they were reordained as Theravada monks.

However, in March 1930 during the Maha Shivaratri festival, he slipped into Kathmandu disguised as a woman and blending with the throngs of Indian pilgrims.

Bauddha Rishi Mahapragya
Mahapragya (left) and the other Buddhist monks exiled in 1926.
Expelled Buddhist monks Tsering Norbu (seated, left), Mahapragya (seated, right) and (standing, from left) Mahaviryya, Mahachandra, Mahakhanti and Mahagnana in Bodh Gaya, India in 1926.