________________
Journal of Indian Philosophy (2005) 33:55-94 DOI 10.1007/s10781-004-9055-1
© Springer 2005
KARIN PREISENDANZ
THE PRODUCTION OF PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE IN SOUTH ASIA DURING THE PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (15TH TO 18TH CENTURIES): THE CASE OF THE NYAYASŪTRA
COMMENTARIAL TRADITION*
Dedicated to Mm. Professor Anantalal Thakur in respectful appreciation of his foundational contribution
to the study of the history of Nyāya
The following essay will present a broad survey as well as some first observations and results concerning the Nyāyasūtra commentarial tradition and its individual scholars in the pre-colonial period, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, in accordance with the focus of the international project 'Sanskrit Knowledge Systems On the Eve of Colonialism' in which I am a participator. To be able to outline the general developments and specific changes which occurred just before
*This contribution is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0135069. Access to the manuscript materials preserved at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute to which reference is made in this contribution has been provided by the Sanskrit Knowledge Systems Project; I would like to take the opportunity to thank BORI for this most collegial cooperation. I also want to express my gratitude to the Sanskrit College, Kolkata, and its Acting Principal, Dr. Jayanta Chakraborty, as well as to the dedicated staff of Sarasvati Bhavana Library, foremost the chief librarian, Dr. Suryakant Yadav, and the former Vice-Chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Dr. Ram Murti Sharma, for generously permitting access to their manuscript holdings and greatly facilitating my work at these institutions in the years 2001 and 2002..In Darbhanga, access to the manuscript collection at Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (Darbhanga Raj Library) was granted in 2002 by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Kishor Kunal, and kind assistance provided by the Head Librarian, Dr. Jha, and the retired manuscript curator ("Mahatmaji"). At the Mithila Research Institute, the Director, Dr. Krishnakant Trivedi, permitted me in the same year to explore part of the Institute's manuscript holdings; in this I was supported by the whole staff, foremost by my dear friend, Dr. Mitra Nath Jha, Director of the Manuscript Department. Furthermore, I am grateful to Dr. Saroja Bhate for her kind assistance in obtaining photocopies of the Nyāyasūtra ms. owned by the Prajñā Pāghaśāla Mandala, Wai, referred to in n. 62. Cordial thanks are due to my husband, Dr. Eli Franco, and my colleague Dr. Anne MacDonald, Vienna, for their many valuable comments and suggestions, and to Dr. Sudipta Kaviraj, London, for his insightful and inspiring remarks on an earlier version of this paper.