FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Advaitavedante Pratikarmavyavastha অদ্বৈতবেদান্তে প্রতিকর্মব্যবস্থা
This book, written by Nirmal Kumar panigrahi, is a detailed analysis of a lesser-known aspect of Advaita Vedānta theory of knowledge. The question that the book deals with is: why does an individual have knowledge of one thing at one point in time and why doesn’t he/she have knowledge of all things all the time? This shows that there is a rule governing individuals having knowledge of things at different times. This is unknown as Pratikarmavyāvasthā. The author discusses the Advaita Vedānta analysis of this and presents the objections advanced by Naiyāyaika and Madhva philosophers. The author also relates this particular epistemological thesis with the metaphysical position of the Advaita Vedānta philosophers.
Japasutram (Volume-3) জপসূত্রম (৩য় খন্ড)
This book, written by Pratyagatmananda Saraswati, is an original work written in Sanskrit and explained in Bengali, containing his views on different aspects of ancient Indian philosophy and religion. In this volume, one finds discussion on the significance of different incarnations, the significance of individual letters etc.
Smṛti Sandarbhaḥ (Volume-4) स्मृति सन्दर्भ: (चतुर्थो भाग)
Smṛtisandharvaḥ (part IV) is a collection of some important parts of different Smṛtiśāstras. The book focuses on three major issues viz. manner (ācāra), social law (vyāvahāra) and repentance (tapasyā). Excerpts from the important Smṛtiśāstras in their original Sanskrit, like Gautamasmrti, Yamasmrti, Arunasmrti, Pulastyasmrti, Vasisthasmrti etc. dealing with these three topics have been published in this book.
Darśana Manīṣā Categories
प्रामाण्यवाद: (Prāmāṇyavādaḥ)
The original text of Gaṅgeśa, called Tattvacintāmaṇi, has been commented on by both Raghunātha Śiromaṇi and Gadāhara Bhattācārya. If knowledge is gained through the ways of knowing, then the very nature of knowledge rests on the nature and veridicality of these recognised ways of knowing. An examination of the veridicality of the ways of knowing is known as pārāmānya. In this book, both Raghunātha and Jagadīśa offer a detailed analysis of the debate concerning the nature and veridicality of the very idea of pramāṇa.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
BROWSE BY LANGUAGE
Societies and Cultures
Societies and Cultures is a collection of eight essays dealing with several aspects of man’s existence and his place in society. D.P.Chattopadhyaya, in this book, explores the various dimensions of man and his evaluation of the society that he lives in. The chapters in the book throw light on the issues that are central to the philosophy of history like the objectivity of history, the paradox of violence, the relation between ethics and religion etc.
Cultural Otherness and Beyond
Cultural Otherness and Beyond is a collection of essays on philosophy of culture. This volume is edited by Chhanda Gupta and D.P.Chattopadhyaya. There are eleven essays in this volume, all dealing with the very idea of culture and nature of understanding a culture. This brings in the idea of exchange among different cultures where the concept of other plays an important role.
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.
Classical Indian Philosophies: Their Synthesis in The Philosophy of Sri Ramakrishna
In this book, Satischandra Chatterjee, presents the salient views of different classical Indian philosophical systems and shows how these divergent views could be synthesized in the philosophy of Ramakrishna. The book contains ten chapters: 1. Introduction, 2. The Cārvāka Philosophy, 3. The Bauddha Philosophy, 4. The Jaina Philosophy, 5. The Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Philosophy, 6. The Sāṃkhya-Yoga Philosophy, 7. The Mīmāṃsā Philosophy, 8. The Vedānta Philosophy, 9. The Synthesis of the Systems and 10. The Philosophy of Ramakrishna. The author argues how on the basis of the idea of adhikāri-veda the divergent views of the different philosophical systems could be synthesised and the author takes cues from the ideas advocated by Sri Ramakrishna in this attempt.
The Fundamentals of Religion
The present book, written by Nalinikanta Brahma, undertakes a detailed study of the essence of all religions. The author classifies all the religions under three groups: 1. Impersonal, 2. Personal and 3. Supra-Personal. The doctrines and beliefs of all the great regions have been presented in terms of this classification. The author makes a critical assessment of the objections to religion as advanced by Russell, Freud and Marx. The author defends what he calls “ Supre-Personal Religion”. The book ends with an analysis of the possibility of a universal religion.