FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
On The Concepts of Relation and Negation in Indian Philosophy
The present book, written by Kalidas Bhattacharya, offers an analysis of the two important Indian philosophical notions, viz. relation and negation. Both these notions have been formulated by Indian philosophers and have been applied to advance their respective metaphysical and epistemological theses. The author brings in several corresponding ideas from Western philosophy to highlight the uniqueness of these two notions as formulated by classical Indian philosophers.
The Art of the Conceptual
This is a collection of essays on different aspects of philosophy, written by Daya Krishna. The essays are divided into three sections: 1. Logic and Epistemology, 2. Moral Philosophy and 3. Social, Political and Economic Philosophy. These essays give an overview of Daya Krishna’s philosophical insights into some of the salient questions in philosophy in general.
Darśana Manīṣā Categories
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.
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.
शब्दशक्तिप्रकाशिका (Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā (Vol-3))
The third volume of Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā contains an analysis of samāsa. The book starts with a presentation and analysis of the definition of samāsa in general. Jagadīśa distinguishes nitya samāsa from anitya samāsa. The present work contains an analysis of six kinds of samāsa, viz, 1. Dvigu, 2. Tatpuruṣa, 3. Avyaībhāva, 4. Bahubrīhi, 5. Dvandva. The author accepts another samāsa viz. Upapada. The Grammarians hold that the vigraha vākya and the samasta vākya do not have the same śakti and so the nature of understanding the meaning of the vigraha vākya does not amount to understanding the meaning of the samāsa. Jagadīśa refutes this view of the Grammarian and argues that both the vigraha vākya and the samāsa do possess the same meaning. While the traditional Pāṇinian grammar includes karmadhārāya samāsa in tatpuruṣa samāsa and dvigu samāsa in karmadhāraya samāsa, the Katantra Grammar includes dvigu samāsa in tatpuruṣa samāsa. Jagadīśa intervenes in this debate and holds that karmadhāraya and dvigu are independent samāsas and so he thinks that there are six kinds of samāsas viz. tatpuruṣa, avyaībhāva, bahubrīhi, dvandva, karmadhārāya and dvigu. In this book one finds a detailed analysis of all these six kinds of samāsa. Even if Jagadīśa does not accept upapada samāsa as an independent samāsa, still he offers an analysis of upapada samāsa on behalf of those who accept upapada samāsa.
अनुमितेमानसत्त्वबिचाररहस्यम् (Anumiter Mānasatvavicārarahasyam)
Harirama Tarkavagisa, in this book, examines the proposal that inference could be subsumed under supersensual perception as accepted in Nyāya. Harirama argues that not all cases of inference could be so explained. He imagines all sorts of possible objections to the view that inference, really speaking, is a kind of perception and refutes all these, defending the thesis that inference is to be regarded as an independent source of knowledge.
BROWSE BY LANGUAGE
Knowledge Freedom and Language (An Interwoven Fabric of Man, Time and World)
Knowledge, Freedom and Language, written by D.P.Chattopadhyaya, is a collection of fifteen essays. All the essays attempt to explore the two major aspects of human behaviour, viz. 1. Language using animal and 2. Freedom-seeking animal. The essays present Chattopadhyaya’s views on the nature and role of language in human experience, while some other essays deal with several philosophical issues regarding freedom, determinism etc.
An Introdution to Classical Sanskrit
An Introduction to Classical Sanskrit is a brief introduction to classical Sanskrit Literature. The book, authored by Gaurinatha Shastri, contains twenty-two chapters other than an Appendix. All the different chapters highlight the contribution of Ancient Indians in the fields like philosophy, literature, science etc. The Appendix describes the status of Sanskrit studies in Europe.
Rashvihary Das on Advaitism
This book has two parts. In the first part, Das elucidates the main arguments offered by Suresvara in his Naiskarmasiddhi. Suresvara, being a direct disciple of Saṅkara, is one of the most authentic representatives of Advaitism. This leads Das to explain the main arguments of Suresvara, which actually would present the main contentions of the Advaita position. In the second part, Das offers his understanding of avidyā, one of the central themes of Advaita philosophy.
The Philosophy of Science
The present book, written by Pravas Jivan Chaudhury, contains essays on different aspects of the philosophy of science. The author presents his views on the problem of induction, the nature of scientific explanation, science and normative ethics, the problem of free-will etc. The author presents his analysis of the quantum theory in science and its epistemological significance. In some cases, the author sheds new light on the Indian philosophical perspective.
Pāṇinidarśanam
The present book is an analysis of the chapter on Pāṇini’ s philosophy as found in the Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha of Mādhavāchārya. Chinmayi Chatterjee, the author of this book, offers a detailed analysis of Mādhavāchārya’s formulation of the central philosophy of Pāṇini, the grammarian. The book discusses the idea of sphoṭa as advocated by Panini as well as the criticisms of sphoṭa as advanced by different philosophers. The correlation between word and its meaning has also been taken up for discussion.
