Twentieth Century Panditas of Kolkata
With the arrival of the colonial education in India, a nationalist urge swept across the Indian subcontinent. And Kolkata was not an exception. There was a conscious attempt on the part of the traditional scholars, to make the philosophical insights available in ancient India available to the modern intelligent readers who for several reasons lost touch with the original Sanskrit intellectual world. Many Sanskrit commentaries were translated with detail explanatory notes in Bengali. These works written in vernacular constitute a rich tradition of recent Indian philosophical repertoire. In this digital library attempts have been made to make these works accessible to the interested researchers.
Advaitamata-samīkṣā অদ্বৈতমত-সমীক্ষা
In this book, Srimohan Tarkavedāntatārtha, the author, offers an explanation of some of the central tenets of Advaita Vedānta. The first chapter discusses how some of the philosophical views of the opponents of Advaita Vedānta have been reformulated in accordance with the tenor of Advaita Vedānta. The second chapter undertakes a discussion of the comparative estimate of the views of the two schools of Advaita Vedānta viz. Vivaraṇa and Bhāmatī schools. The last chapter presents an analysis of the theory of Śabdaparokṣavāda, a view defended by the Vivaraṇa school of Advaita Vedānta.
Ātmatattvaviveka (Volume-1) আত্মতত্ত্ববিবেক (১ম খন্ড)
This book is a Bengali translation and explanation of Ātmatattvaviveka (written by Udayanāchārya) done by Dinanath Tripathi. Ātmatattvaviveka is a philosophical work refuting the Buddhist thesis. In the present volume, there is a detailed discussion of the Buddhist thesis of momentariness. The translator offers an exhaustive analysis of Udayana’s attempt to refute the doctrine of momentariness.
Ātmatattvaviveka (Volume-3) আত্মতত্ত্ববিবেক (৩য় খন্ড)
This book is a Bengali translation and explanation of Ātmatattvaviveka (written by Udayanāchārya) done by Dinanath Tripathi. Ātmatattvaviveka is a philosophical work refuting the Buddhist thesis. In the present volume, there is a detailed discussion of the Buddhist thesis that no external object exists independent of knowledge of them. The translator explains Udayanāchārya’s refutation of this Buddhist thesis.
Bauddhācāryasammata Svārthānumāner Saṁkṣipta Ālocanā বৌদ্ধাচার্যসম্মত স্বার্থানুমানের সংক্ষিপ্ত আলোচনা
This book, written by Heramba Chattopadhyay, is a detail presentation of the Buddhist theory of svārthānumāna. In the introduction, the author presents a historical survey of the key contributions of Buddhist philosophers in the field of logic. In the main body of the text, the reader finds an analysis of the Buddhist theory of inference along with a presentation of the different criticisms levelled against the Buddhist theory by rival philosophical systems of classical Indian Philosophy.
Bhāratiya Darśana Koṣa (Volume-1) ভারতীয় দর্শন কোষ (১ম খন্ড)
The present book is a dictionary of the key philosophical terms used in Prācina-Nyāya, Navya-Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika philosophical systems, compiled by Srimohan Bhattacharya and Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya. The terms are arranged in alphabetical order. Against each term, there is a short explanation of the meaning of these terms.
Jainadarśaner Digdarśana জৈনদর্শনের দিগ্দর্শন
Satindra Chandra Nyāyāchārya presents an outline of Jaina philosophy in this book. The author argues that Syādvāda and Nayavāda are the two main fundamental theses of Jainism. The book contains a detailed presentation of the Jaina theory of pramāṇa. The author explains why the Jainas accept pratyabhijñā as an indirect pramāṇa. There is also a discussion on the Jaina view that upamāṇa pramāṇa could be included in pratyabhijñā. The author ends his discourse with a discussion on Nayavāda.
Mānmeyodayaḥ (Volume-1) মানমেয়োদয়: (২য় খন্ড)
This book written by Dīnanāth Tripathi is a detail exposition of Mīmāṃsā text Mānameodaya, originally authored by Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭa. This book is divided into two sections, viz. Pramāṇa and Prameya. After proposing the definition of pramāṇa, the author presents a detailed analysis of all the six pramāṇas accepted by the Bhaṭṭa school of Mīmāṃsā philosophy. During this discourse, the views of Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, Buddhism and Prābhākara have been refuted. In the Prameya section, there is a discussion on the five prameyas accepted in the Bhaṭṭa school, viz. dravya, jāti, guṇa, kriya and abhāva.
Navya-Nyāya Bhāṣāpradīpaḥ नब्य-न्याय भाषाप्रदीप:
The present book, written by Maheśa Chandra Nyāyaratna, translated and explained in Bengali by Kalipada Tarkāchārya, is an attempt to explain the meaning of some of the technical terms used in Navya-Nyāya philosophy. Since many of these terms like dharma, abhāva, lakṣaṇa etc. are used in many classical systems of Indian philosophy, understanding the significance of these terms is a prerequisite in the study of many schools of Indian philosophy.
Nyāyadarśan Mate Ātmā ন্যায় দর্শন মতে আত্মা
In this book, written by Tarapada Bhattacharya, one finds an elaborate analysis of the Nyāya theory of self. Following a discussion of the proofs for the existence of self, one finds deliberations on the nature of self as distinct from body. Nyāya arguments for the view that self is eternal and has attributes have been presented. The plurality and ubiquitous nature of self have been proved. The question about the emancipation of self has been discussed. The book ends with a discussion on the nature of god as paramātmān.
Sāṃkhyadarśan সাংখ্যদর্শন
This book, written by Bhupendranath Bhattacharya, is a detailed presentation of the main features of Sāṃkhya philosophy. There are seven chapters in the book that contain discussions on Saṃkhya theory of pramāṇa, Sāṃkhya theory of god, Sāṃkhya theory of causation, Sāṃkhya theory of guṇa, Sāṃkhya theory of prakṛti, Sāṃkhya theory of puruṣa, Sāṃkhya theory of mahat-tattva, Sāṃkhya theory of subtle body, Sāṃkhya theory of bhautika sarga, Sāṃkhya theory of pralaya, Sāṃkhya theory of liberation respectively.
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.
Tantra O Āgamaśāstrer Digdarśan তন্ত্র ও আগম শাস্ত্রের দিগদর্শন
This book written by Gopinath Kaviraj is an introduction to the philosophy of Tantra. This book is divided into three sections: 1. Theories of Tantra, 2. Schools of Tantra and 3. Fundamental Tantric texts. The first section presents the dualist perspective of Śaivagama. Some of the fundamental concepts of this school have been analyzed. The second section contains a discussion on two main schools of Tantra philosophy, viz. Kaula school and Kapalika school. The third section presents a brief history of the salient works written on Tantra philosophy like daśa śivagama, astadaśa rudragama etc.
The Philosophy of Word and Meaning
Gaurinath Sastri, the author of this book, reconstructs the whole philosophy of Bhartṛhari. Bhartṛhari is the first philosopher in Indian tradition to build an entire philosophical system on a theory of language. The present book contains the following chapters: 1. The Supreme Reality, 2. The Supreme Power, 3. Functioning of Powers, 4. Correspondence of Form and Matter, 5. The Empiric World of Realities, 6. Word: What It Is, 7. Import of Words, and 8. Import of Propositions. The author presents Bhartṛhari’s thesis on the metaphysics of word and its manifestation in the form of the empirical world. There is a detailed discussion on the nature of sub-sentential parts like varṇa, pada etc. An elaborate discussion on the nature of knowledge of the different parts of a sentence resulting in the knowledge of the whole sentence can be found in this book. A comparative estimate of the relevant views of other Grammarians and other schools of classical Indian philosophy has been attempted by the author.
The Vidhi Viveka (Volume-1) বিধিবিবেক (১ম ভাগ)
Since Mīmāṃsā philosophy is known as the study of Vedic sentences, and since knowledge of vidhi sentences are required to perform the Vedic rituals resulting in the production of dharma, analysis and classification of vidhi sentence forms an important part of Mīmāṃsā philosophy. The present book, authored by Srimohan Bhattacharya, offers an explanation of the views of Maṇḍan Miśra as one finds in his Vidhi-Viveka with regard to the nature and varieties of vidhi sentence. The author also alludes to the Nyāya-Kanikā commentary written by Vācaspati Miśra on Vidhi-Viveka. In the course of the discussion, the author presents Maṇḍana Miśra’s refutation of the doctrine of momentariness and his rejection of the idea of omniscience targeting Buddhism, Yoga and Nyāya.
The Vyakti-Viveka (Part-1) व्यक्ति-विवेक:
This book, written by Mahima Bhaṭṭa, has been explained in Bengali by Bishnupada Bhattacharya. In this book, the author criticizes the Dhvani theory propounded by Ānandavardhan. Mahima Bhaṭṭa, like fellow Kashmir thinkers, was influenced by the philosophy of Pratyabhijñā. Mahima Bhaṭṭa was also well acquainted with the works of Diṅnāga and Dharmakīrti. The central contention of Mahima Bhaṭṭa, which has been explained in this book, is that Dhvani theory and vyāñjanā relation could be included in inferential knowledge. Mahima Bhaṭṭa argues that words have only the power of meaning and nothing else is required to account for the denotative power.
With the arrival of the colonial education in India, a nationalist urge swept across the Indian subcontinent. And Kolkata was not an exception. There was a conscious attempt on the part of the traditional scholars, to make the philosophical insights available in ancient India available to the modern intelligent readers who for several reasons lost touch with the original Sanskrit intellectual world. Many Sanskrit commentaries were translated with detail explanatory notes in Bengali. These works written in vernacular constitute a rich tradition of recent Indian philosophical repertoire. In this digital library attempts have been made to make these works accessible to the interested researchers.