Origin and Development of the Vaiśeṣika System
Origin and Development of the Vaiśeṣika System

Author: Anantalāla Ṭhakkura

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13:

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The Vaisesikadarsana Of Kanada Is One Of The Oldest Among The Indian Systems Of Philosophy. But A Comprehensive History Of The Subject Has Not As Yet Been Attempted Presumably For Want Of Published Materials. There Is A Long Gap Between Kanada And Prasastapada. But Jain Scholars Inform Us Of Brisk Activities During This Dark Period. The Ancient And Modern Nyaya Sub-Schools Regarded The Vaisesika As Their Samana-Tantra. The Buddhists Accepted Them As Their Worthy Rivals. The Printed Vaisesika Texts Are But A Fraction Of Their Former Rich Literature. But Important Texts Have Recently Been Discovered In Manuscripts. As The Vaisesikas Had Intimate Relation With The Nyaya, Buddhist And Jain Systems, The Vaisesika Materials Could Be Traced From Them And Other Non-Vaisesika Texts Offering Important Information On The Vaisesika History And Exegesis. They Were First Presented In The Form Of Articles And Ultimately Integrated In The Present Volume. It Is True That Considering The Time Span And The Rich Heritage Of The Vaisesika The Attempt Made Here Is Very Small. It Is Expected That More Manuscripts Of Lost Vaisesika Works And More References And Quotations May Be Gathered From Non-Vaisesika Sources Especially The Tibetan Versions Of The Buddhist Logical Works And Commentaries Of The Dignaga And Dharmakirti School.

Classical Vaisesika in Indian Philosophy
Classical Vaisesika in Indian Philosophy

Author: ShashiPrabha Kumar

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-02

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 1135071098

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Vaisesika is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy. It represents a pluralistic realism and is usually held to be an atomistic, metaphysical theory. This book explores the basic tenets of the Vaisesika classical school of Indian philosophy from a new perspective. It argues that it reveals an epistemological formulation of its own, which was diminished due to later developments in the history of Indian philosophical tradition. Focusing on the principles of knowable objects and the processes of knowing as propounded by the Vaisesika school of Indian Philosophy, the book offers a fuller appreciation of the theories. Providing a balanced approach by examining earliest available material in the original sources of Vaisesika and concentrating on the epistemological pattern adopted therein, it presents an authentic and comprehensive understanding of Vaisesika concepts. This is the first introductory sourcebook in English for the authentic study of Vaisesika, and is of use to students and scholars of World Religion and Philosophy.

Historical Dictionary of Ancient India
Historical Dictionary of Ancient India

Author: Kumkum Roy

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 0810853663

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India's history and culture is ancient and dynamic, spanning back to the beginning of human civilization. Beginning with a mysterious culture along the Indus River and in farming communities in the southern lands of India, the history of India is punctuated by constant integration with migrating peoples and with the diverse cultures that surround the country. Placed in the center of Asia, history in India is a crossroads of cultures from China to Europe, as well as the most significant Asian connection with the cultures of Africa. The Historical Dictionary of Ancient India provides information ranging from the earliest Paleolithic cultures in the Indian subcontinent to 1000 CE. The ancient history of this country is related in this book through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on rulers, bureaucrats, ancient societies, religion, gods, and philosophical ideas.

Indian Philosophy and Text Science
Indian Philosophy and Text Science

Author: Toshihiro Wada

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 8120834054

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The present book aims at clarifying various aspects of Indian philosophy by applying concepts used in text science towards their analysis. Text science attempts to establish universal rules which apply to all forms of human expression. If we regard all human expression, 'including behaviour', as communication, it contains a meaning-system whether it has the form of language or not. The human expression may be classified as language, figure, body action, and so forth; we consider all these forms of expression to be texts, for which there must apply universal rules. The aim of text science is to explain how these rules function throughout various types of texts and thus provide a better understanding of human behaviour. Here the direction of analysis is from context to text. It is also possible to move from the text. It is also possible to move from text to context. We can arrive at a new context from texts such as commentaries, which context cannot be discovered through reading only one of those texts. Such a context will certainly help us coherently interpret other texts related to the texts. The concept of context and these two directions of analysis may not be necessarily new tools to scholars of Indian studies, who often adopt this method unconsciously. However, we aim to use this method consciously here. It is an underlying principle of this book that in order to understand texts, written in Sanskrit or other languages, we need to turn our attention towards factors outside of them, such as information provided by other areas of study, which factors we call context.