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The Concept of Philosophy
The present book, written by Nikunja Vihari Banerjee, is an attempt to formulate the very idea of philosophy mainly banking on the philosophy of K.C.Bhattacharyya. The book is divided into six chapters: 1. Introduction, 2. Philosophy and Science, 3. The Epistemological Background, 4. Empirical Thought and Philosophical Thought, 5. What then is Philosophy? and 6. Conclusion. The author presents K.C.Bhattacharya’s idea of philosophy as distinct from science and elaborates on the concept of philosophy as an independent spiritual activity.
Kāvyapradīpa काब्यप्रदीप:
Kāvyapradīpa is working on classical Sanskrit Aesthetics written by Govinda. The present work contains a commentary on the original text by Vaidyanatha Tatsat. The complete work is edited by Durgaprasada and Wasudev Laxman Shastri Pansikar. Through the ten chapters, the author presents and analyzes the different views on Sanskrit Aesthetics.
Darśana Manīṣā Categories
शक्तिबाद (Śaktivādaḥ)
In this book, Gadādhara Bhattāchārya presents a theory of the meaning of words. This work is divided into three chapters: 1. Sāmānyakāṇḍa, 2. Viśesakāṣḍa and 3. Pariśiṣtakāṇḍa. In Sāmānyakaṇḍa, the author undertakes a detailed analysis of vṛtti of words. Here one comes across a definition of śakti in terms of which a word denotes its meaning. The theory of anvitābhidhāna has been refuted. In the Viśeṣakaṇḍa, the author undertakes an analysis of the meaning of words denoting an individual and the meaning of the words denoting a universal. Prabhākara theory of meaning has been refuted. This chapter contains an analysis of indexicals and demonstratives. The third chapter viz. Pariśiṣtakaṇḍa contains a defence of the view that the śakti of a word lies in the individual that is qualified by the corresponding universal. Views of several Mīmāṃsaka philosophers have been critically assessed.
নবদ্বীপের ইতিহাস ও সংস্কৃতি (Navadviper Itihas O Samskriti)
This work is a historical study of Navadvipa. The present work consists of eleven chapters. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the history of Navadvipa. The second chapter devotes itself to the geographical location of Navadvipa. The third chapter takes note of the Buddhist influence. In the fourth chapter, there is a survey of historical studies done on Navadvipa. The cultural movements in Navadvipa constitute the fifth chapter. The history of old temples and monasteries in Navadvipa is the focus of the sixth chapter. The rule of Krishnachandra is the point of discussion in the seventh chapter. The eighth chapter describes the education scenario in Navadvipa. The debate concerning the birthplace of Chaitanya Deva forms the major part of the discussion in the ninth chapter. In the tenth chapter, one finds a description of crematoriums and graveyards in Navadvipa. The last chapter refers to some historical studies on Navadvipa already done. This book contains some ancient maps and pictures of the old temples of Navadvipa.
নবদ্বীপ মহিমা (Nabadwip Mahima)
This book is perhaps the first attempt to portray the detailed history of Navadvipa. The author starts the discourse with the history of the name ‘Navadvipa’ along with a description of the relation of Navadvipa to the rest of Bengal during the ancient period. The second part of the book contains a detailed description of the scholars of Navadvipa who worked on Navya-Nyāya, Smṛti, and Tantra. In the third chapter, one finds an elaborate presentation of Sri Chaitanya’s biography along with a discussion on Vaishnava religion. Since Navadvipa was ruled by the king of Krishnagar for a long time, there is a discussion on the rulers of Krishnagar, their contribution to the Navadvipa scholarship as patrons. The author also adds a discussion on the famous musicians, eminent persons trained in English education and business persons of Navadvipa.
जागदीशीव्याधिकरणम् (Jāgadīśvyādhikaraṇam)
This is a prakaraṇa text on the Nyāya theory of vyāpti written by Jagadīśa. The main theme of the work centres around the nature of vyāpti.Knowledge of vyāpti is the cause of inferential knowledge. If the definition of vyāpti is constructed in terms of avyābhicāritatva, then one could explain avyābhicāritatva in five alternative ways. And none of these alternatives is acceptable, for this understanding of vyāpti would fail to account for kevalānvayi inference. In order to remove this problem, the definition of vyāpti is reconstructed as pratiyogivṛttidharmāvacchinna-pratiyogitākabhāvarupa vyādhikaraṇadharmāvacchinnabhāva. Jagadīśa examines this new definition of vyāpti and offers his justification, refuting all the possible objections.
Gadādhara’s Theory of Objectivity Viṣayatāvāda (Part-Two)
In this book, Sibajiban Bhattacharyya offers a detailed analysis of the text called Viṣayatāvāda, written by Gadādhara. After explaining the traditional Navya-Nyāya theory of objectivity, the author presents the later Navya-Nyāya theory of objecthood where it has been argued that objecthood cannot be cognition itself. Gadādhara’s theory of relation has been analyzed in terms of objecthood of qualified cognition. A detailed analysis of the ideas of qualificandness, qualificandumness, predicatehood could be found in this book.
প্রস্থানভেদঃ (Prasthānaveda)
The present work is a commentary by Madhusudana Saraswati on a part of Śivamahimāstotra (Hymns to the glory of Śiva) written by Puṣpadanta. In this commentary, Madhusudana talks about eighteen disciplines of knowledge. All the āstika and nāstika systems of knowledge could be included in the eighteen disciplines and all these systems of knowledge, either directly or indirectly, aimed at determining the nature of god. According to Madhusudana, even the philosophy of art written by Bharata aims at worshiping god. Madhusudana argues that one could talk about three fundamental prasthānas viz. ārambhavāda, parināmavāda and vivartavāda. We start our intellectual journey from ārambhavāda and then through pariṇāmavāda reach vivartavāda. It is only in vivartavāda that one realizes that the world is a vivarta of Brahmaṇ. The varieties of prasthānas have been created only to cater to the needs of people of various inclinations.
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Philosophical Foundation of Bengal Vaisnavism
In this book, written by Sudhir Chandra Chakrabarti, one finds a detailed exploration of the philosophical ideas as found in the Vaiṣṇava philosophical school of Bengal. The philosophy of achintyabhedābheda has been explained. The nature of bhakti as the means of attaining the ultimate goal of human life viz. Love for God has been elucidated. The aesthetic significance of the conception of Krṣṇa as the embodiment of all rāsas have been presented. The fifteen chapters in the book are 1. The attitude towards epistemology, 2. The psychological basis of knowledge and the nature of the error, 3. A synoptic view of Bengal Vaiṣṇavism, 4. Jīva Goswamin’s conception of Bhagavat, 5. The Bhagavat as the Ground of Jīva-śakti and Māya-śakti, 6. The doctrine of Causation in Bengal Vaiṣṇavism, 7. Kriṣṇa and His incarnations, 8. Bhakti, the means of God-Realisation, 9. The supreme realisation, 10. Bengal Vaiṣṇavism and Kierkegaard’s Existentialism, 11. The Place of Ethics in Bengal Vaiṣṇavism, 12. Acintya-Bhedābheda, 13. Rāsa (Relish), 14. Christianity and Bengal Vaiṣṇavism, 15. Conclusion.
A Study in the Dialectical of Sphoṭa
Gaurinatha Sastri, in this book, deals with the idea of sphoṭa as one finds in the Grammarian Tradition in classical Indian philosophy. The book contains four chapters: 1. Nyāya and Mīmāṃsā objections to the idea of sphoṭa, 2. The views of Kumārila, Śabara and Jayanta on sphoṭa. 3. Classification of Sphoṭa and 4. Authority of Āgama on sphoṭa.
Ancient Indian Erotics and Erotic Literature
Ancient Indian Erotics and Erotic Literature by Sushil Kumar De is a work on the nature of erotic literature in ancient India. The book consists of chapters: 1. Treatment of Love in Pre-Classical Literature, 2. Treatment of Love in Classical Poetry and 3. Treatment of Love in Prose Romance and Drama. The book ends with a chapter on Ancient Indian Erotics (Kama-Sastra).