ABSTRACT
A number of issues surrounding the question of Vilsavajras name should be considered before examining evidence concerning his life and date. In both the Sanskrit and Tibetan translation the colophon to the NMAA states that Vilsavajra was known by a number of different names. Sources of information concerning the life and date of Vilsavajra include entries in the work of the Tibetan historians, an important reference in a hagiography of Jnapda. Two sources of evidence concerning Vilsavajras life are the NMAA colophon and the entry on Sgeg pai rdo rje in Tranthas History of Buddhism in India. A number of observations emerge from a comparison of the two versions of the colophon. Firstly, the name Vivarpa is partly restored from the Tibetan, it is clear that both the Sanskrit and Tibetan agree in giving this as an alternative name for Vilsavajra. Secondly, the Sanskrit has nothing corresponding to the Tibetan nyi ma can, which taken as a description name.
