FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Gaṅgeśa’s Theory of Indeterminate Perception (Nirvikalpakavāda) Part- 2
The present book is an English translation and explanation of the chapter on Nirvikalpakavāda in Tattacintāmaṇi by Gaṅgeṣa. Each of the parts of the original text has been followed by an explanation. Many objections to Gaṅgeṣa’s theory of indeterminate perception have been explained and responded to by the author.
A History of Sanskrit Literature सारस्बत – शतकम
A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur A. Macdonell is one of the earliest accounts of the History of Sanskrit Literature published in Europe. The book consists of sixteen chapters other than Bibliographical Notes and Index. The chapters focus on the life and thoughts of Ancient India as they appear in classical Sanskrit literature.
Darśana Manīṣā Categories
ध्ब्मसजन्यभावयो: कार्यकारणभावरहस्यम् (Dhvaṃsa- Janyabhāvayoḥ Kārya-Kāraṇabhāvarahasyam)
In this essay, Harirama Tarkavagisa undertakes an analysis of the nature of the causal relationship between a positive effect and destruction. The author examines the nature of the inference viz. Dhvaṃsa is due to vināśa. If one takes into consideration this inference, there must be a hetu here and the hetu could be said to have an upadhi viz. Bhāvatva. Harirama, in this context, presents different ways of formulating the causal relation. The author ends this essay by concluding that the positive effect (janyabhāva) could be said to be the cause of destruction (dhvaṃsa) through the relation of pratiyogitva.
मुक्तिबादबिचारः (Muktivādavicaraḥ)
This book is an essay on Nyāya theory of liberation. Harirāma Tarkavāgīśa, in this book, critically assesses the generally accepted definition of liberation as permanent (ātyantika) cessation (nivṛtti) of suffering (duhkha). The debate revolves around explaining the terms like ‘atyanta’ and ‘nivṛtti’. Harirama argues that the widely accepted understanding of these words fails to cover all the different kinds of liberation that philosophers talk about. Harirama proposes to describe liberation as the destruction of final suffering and the idea of finality could be understood as a universal inhering in suffering. Harirama argues that if knowledge of reality is to be regarded as the cause of liberation, then liberation is to be regarded as the permanent post-negation of sin and not of misery.
शब्दशक्तिप्रकाशिका (Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā (Vol-1))
Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā is an important text written by Jagadīśa Tarkālaṃkāra containing an analysis of śabda pramāna following the Navya-Nyāya tradition. This work is a defence of many of the theses of Gaṅgeśa, the author of Tattvacintāmaṇi. In many places, the views of Bhatṛhari and Srīpatidatta, the author of Kalapa-pariśiṣta, have been critically assessed and defended. The author offers a detailed analysis of how the knowledge of the meaning of a sentence is generated through the presence of the elements like ākāṁṣkā, yogyatā and āsatti. Since the meaning of a word is defined in terms of śakti, a question arises with regard to the locus of śakti. Bhāṭṭa Mīmāṁsakas hold that śakti stays in the universal. Jagadīśa refutes this thesis of the Mīmāṁsakas. The author also refutes the thesis that the locus of śakti is the individual object, a view that is propagated by Raghunātha Śiromaṇi. Jagadīśa defends the view that combines both the insights that the locus of śakti is the individual object and the locus of śakti is the universal. In this book, Jagadīśa presents an analysis of the nature of lakṣanā. In this work we also find an analysis of how ākaṁkṣā, yogyatā and āsatti could be treated as the cause of understanding the meaning of a sentence. Jagadīśa, however, refutes the view that the knowledge of tātparya is the cause of understanding the meaning of a sentence, instead proposes the view that prakaraṇajñāna is the cause of understanding the meaning of a sentence. Thus in the present work the author, after defending śabdapramāṇa as an independent pramāṇa, offers his analysis of the ways of generating linguistic understanding.
पक्षताप्रकरणम् (Pakṣtā Prakaraṇam)
In this book Jagadśa undertakes a study of the concept of pakṣatā. Pakṣatā is regarded as the cause of inference. Some define pakṣatā as sādhyasaṃśaya. Some others define pakṣatā as siṣādhayiṣāvirahaviśiṣtasiddhyabhāvaḥ. A detailed analysis of all these issues has been done by the author in this book.
নদিয়ার ইতিহাস- চর্চা (Nadiyar Itihas Carca)
This book is a collection of essays on varieties of aspects of life in Nadia, presently a district in West Bengal, India. Since once upon a time Navadvipa was the main centre of Nadia, and later Krisnanagar became the capital from where the ruler ruled his kingdom including Navadvipa, much of the history of Navadvipa is closely associated with the history of Nadia. This book is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, the essays focus on the different archaeological sites found in Nadia and bring to light their historical importance. The second chapter focuses on the rivers, waterways and road transport of Nadia. In the third chapter, the essays highlight the importance of the local festivals and the contribution of logical artisans with special reference to weavers. The essays in the fourth chapter take note of the contribution of the musicians and theatre personalities of Nadia. The book ends with a chapter containing articles on different religious and political movements that took place in Nadia.
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
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.
Search for the Absolute in Neo-Vedanta
This book by the legendary K.C. Bhattacharyya is a collection of three essays which belong to three distinct phases of the development of KCB’s philosophical thought. In these phases he defines the Absolute as Indefinite, then the Absolute as Subject, and then the Absolute as Alternation. The essays are
- The Place of the Indefinite in Logic
- The Subject as Freedom
- The Concept of the Absolute and its Alternative Forms
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.
Facts of Buddhist Thought
The present book comprises three chapters: 1. Pratītyasamutpāda in Buddhist philosophy, 2. The Mādhyamika and the philosophy of language and 3. Idealism and Absolutism - A Buddhist synthesis. In the first chapter A.K.Chatterjee, the author, traces the theory of pratītyasamutpāda from the Abhidharmika stage through Mādhyamika and Yogācāra interpretations. In the second chapter, the author defends the Mādhyamika position in terms of metalanguage and object-language distinction. The third chapter takes up the issue of Yogācāra idealism in terms of sahopalambha-niyama and shows how idealism culminates in Absolutism.
Studies in the Upaniṣads
This book is a detailed study of the philosophical significance of the Upaniṣads. Govinda Gopal Mukhopadhyay, the author of the book, reconstructs the salient themes of the Upaniṣads in seven chapters: 1. The Problem of Reality, 2. The Problem of Knowledge, 3. The Preparation, 4. Contemplation, 5. The Synthetic Way, 6. The Analytic Way and 7.The Problem of Attainment. The first two chapters deal with the metaphysical and epistemological views of the Upaniṣads. The next four chapters present an analysis of the different methods of attaining the ultimate reality as prescribed in different Upaniṣads. The last chapter deals with the nature of the state where one attains the ultimate goal by contrasting the Upaniṣadic views with other alternative theories.
