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Niḥśreyasa in Vyomavatī

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Book cover Categories, Creation and Cognition in Vaiśeṣika Philosophy

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Abstract

The chapter deals with the Vaiśeṣika view of niḥśreyasa (emancipation/liberation), mainly based on the introductory section of Vyomavatī, the oldest available commentary on Praśastapāda’s Padārthadharmasaṁgraha. Other Vaiśeṣika sources will also be referred to wherever relevant. The Vyomavatī presents several views of the opponents (pūrvapakṣas) regarding niḥśreyasa and after rejecting them all one by one, posits the traditional view of Vaiśeṣika as the proponent.

Note: Two untranslated editions of the text have been published till date as follows, and references in this chapter are from the 1930 edition, (unless mentioned otherwise):

(i) Vyomavatī, Pandit Gopināth Kavirāj and Ḍhuṇḍhirāj Śāstrī (eds.) (Along with Setu of Padmanābha Mishra and Sūkti of Jagadisha Tarkālaṁkāra), Chowkhambha Sanskrit Series Office, Benares, 1930.

(ii) Vyomavatī, Gaurinath Sastri (ed.), Two Vols., Sampūrṇānand Sanskrit Viśvavidyālaya, Varanasi, 1983.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Lad, Ashok Kumar (1967) A Comparative Study of The Concept of Liberation in Indian Philosophy, Introduction, p. 2.

  2. 2.

    Niścitam śreyaḥ. – Śadakalpadrumaḥ, Vol-2, (Dev, Raja Radhakant 2006), p. 875.

  3. 3.

    Mokṣāvasthā samastaguṇocchedopalakṣitā svarūpasthitireva. – Nyāyakandalī (NK), (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), p. 692.

  4. 4.

    Athāto dharmaṁ vyākhyāsyāhaḥ.

    Yato’bhyudayaniśreyasasiddhiḥ sa dharmaḥ. – The Vaiśeṣika Sūtras of Kaṇāda (VS), 1.1.1–2, (Sinha, Nandalal (Eng. trans.) 1986).

  5. 5.

    According to one of the commentators of the text, the title suggests ‘A concise statement of Features/Attributes of the Categories’. – Vide Sūkti, (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 1.

  6. 6.

    Padārthadharmasaṁgrahaḥ pravakṣyate mahodayaḥ. – Praśastapādabhāṣyaṁ (PPBh.), (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), Introductory verse, p. 1.

  7. 7.

    Vide Varadachari, V. In (Potter, Karl H. (ed.) 1977) Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vol. II, footnote 63, pp. 703–704.

  8. 8.

    Navānātmaviśeṣaguṇānāṁ santāno’tyantamucchidyate santānatvādyo yaḥ santānaḥ sa so’tyantamucchidyamāno dṛṣṭaḥ yathā pradīpasantānaḥ tathā cāyaṁ santānastasmāt. – Vyomavatī (Vyo.), (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (क).

  9. 9.

    Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (क).

  10. 10.

    VS, 1.1.4, (Sinha, Nandalal (Eng. trans.) 1986).

  11. 11.

    Tacceśvaracodanābhivyaktāddharmādeva. – PPBh., (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), p. 2.

  12. 12.

    Viśiṣṭatattvajñānasya niḥśreayasakāraṇatvābhyupagamāt. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (क).

  13. 13.

    Tanniḥśreyasaṁ dharmādeva bhavati, dravyāditattvajñānaṁ tasya kāraṇatvena niḥśreyasasādh-aranamityabhiprāyaḥ. …Tacceti cakāro dravyādisādharmyajñānena saha dharmasya niḥśreyasahetutvaṁ samuccinoti. – Nyāyakandalī (NK), (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), pp. 18–19.

  14. 14.

    NK, (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), p. 683.

  15. 15.

    Ānandarūpo mokṣaḥ. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ख)

    Note:

    • It is not very certain as to which particular school is being referred to here by Vyomasiva. Padmanābha Mishra, another commentator of Padārthadharmasaṁgraha, has also quoted this view in his commentary called Setu as that of Mīmāṁsakas. One of the modern interpreters of Vyomavatī has referred to this view under the name of Mīmāṁsakas – (Ramanujan, P.S. 1979) A Study of Vaiśeṣika Philosophy with Special Reference to Vyomaśivācārya, pp. 198–200.

    • (Jhalakīkar, B. 1978) Nyāyakośa, p. 413, also supports this idea.

    • But Karl H. Potter quotes this view as that of Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva school. – Vide (Potter, Karl. H. 1977) Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. II, p. 701.

  16. 16.

    Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ख-घ).

  17. 17.

    Guṇapuruṣāntaravivekadarśanaṁ niḥśreyasasādhanamiti. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (घ).

  18. 18.

    Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (घ).

  19. 19.

    Draṣṭuḥ svarūpeṇāvasthānam. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (घ).

  20. 20.

    Guṇaguṇinośca tādātmyapratiṣedhaṁ vakṣyāmaḥ. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (घ).

  21. 21.

    Anye tu asthirādibhāvanāvaśād āgādiviyuktajñānotpattirniḥśreyasamiti. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (घ).

  22. 22.

    Vyo., Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ङ).

  23. 23.

    Yacca santānocchittirniśreyasāmiti tatra nirhetukatayā vināśasya upāyavaiyarthyam. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ङ).

  24. 24.

    Anye tu anekāntabhāvanāto viśiṣṭapradeśe’kṣayaśarīrādilābho niḥśreyasamiti. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ङ).

  25. 25.

    Na cotpattidharmāṇāṁ śarīrādīnāmakṣayatvaṁ nyāyyam. Tathā muktāvapyanekānto na vyāvartate iti mukto na muktaśceti syāt. Evañca sati sa eva muktaḥ saṁsārī ceti prasaktam. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  26. 26.

    Ātmaikatvajñānāt paramātmani layaḥ sampadyate. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  27. 27.

    Tadapyasat. Ātmaikatvajñānasya mithyārūpatayā niḥśreyasasādhanatvānupapatteḥ. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  28. 28.

    Sarvārthānāṁ śabdarūpatā. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  29. 29.

    Ekasmiṅcādvaite pratibandhaamānatayā sarva evādvaitabhedāḥ pratiṣiddhā bhavantītyātmaika- tvapratiṣedhādevedaṁ pratiṣiddhaṁ bhavatīti. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  30. 30.

    Maheśvaraprasādādaśuddhaiśvaryavināśe tadguṇasaṁkrāntiḥ. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  31. 31.

    Maheśvaraprasādaśca muktau na pratiṣidhyate tasyāstadadhīnatvāt. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (च).

  32. 32.

    For details see (Kumar, ShashiPrabha 2013) Classical Vaiśeṣika in Indian Philosophy: On Knowing and What is to be Known, pp. 104–109.

  33. 33.

    Tadabhāve saṁyogābhāvo’ prādurbhāvaśca mokṣaḥ. – VS, 5.2.18, (Sinha, Nandalal (Eng. trans.) 1986).

  34. 34.

    Tadā nirodhāt nirbījasyātmanaḥ śarīrādinivṛttiḥ, Punaḥ śarīrādyanutpattau dagdhendhanānalavadupaśamo mokṣaḥ. – PPBh., (Sharma, Sri Durgadhara Jha (ed. and Hindi trans.) 1977), p. 682.

  35. 35.

    Atha sarvaguṇocchedād varaṁ vaiṣayikaṁ sukhaṁ duḥkhasādhanaparihāreṇa bhoktavyamiti manyase, tanna, tasya duḥkhānuṣaṅgeṇa duḥkharūpatayā heyatvāt. Yeṣāñcaitadupādeyaṁ na tān pratīdamarthavacchāstram. Santi ca vaiṣayikasukhadveṣiṇaḥ puruṣāstān pratīdaṁ śāstram.

    Te ca yadyupadeśamapekṣante nopāyāntarādevārthaṁ pratipadyānuṣṭhāne pravartanta iti. Mokṣāstitve ca pramāṇopapatteḥ. – Vyo., (Kaviraj, Gopinath and Śāstrī, Ḍhuṇḍhirāj (eds.) 1930), p. 20 (ग).

References

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  1. Shri Shankaracharya Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, India

    ShashiPrabha Kumar

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Kumar, S. (2019). Niḥśreyasa in Vyomavatī. In: Categories, Creation and Cognition in Vaiśeṣika Philosophy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2965-4_10

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