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THE NYAYASŪTRA COMMENTARIAL TRADITION
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foundations laid by Dignāga and his own teacher Isvarasena. This clearly contrasts with what Vācaspati has to say on Uddyotakara's mangalaśloka and the role of his commentary vis-à-vis the teaching of Akşapāda: The 'poor logicians, whom he identifies as Dignāga and other hostile scholars posterior (arvācīna) to Vātsyāyana, had covered the śāstra with the darkness of bad reasons, with the result that it was no longer suitable to determine the true nature of things; Uddyotakara, however, removed this darkness by means of the light of his composition." We can infer here that for Vācaspati Miśra Aksapāda, the venerable sage (bhagavān munih), ' remains the timeless authority; only the attempts by later scholars, such as Uddyotakara, to defend his teachings against unfair and unfounded accusations can lose their strength and become antiquated. Akşapāda's authority - as opposed to that to which the Buddhist opponents appeal - is further stressed by Vācaspati Miśra's employment of epithets that, once more, are commonly and typically applied to the Buddha. In one of his mangalasloka-s he calls Akşapāda a 'protector' (tāyin)," a term which is commonly used by Buddhists and Jains as an epithet of the Buddha and of Mahāvīra and other Tīrthamkaras respectively20 and which immediately evokes again Dignāga's mangalaśloka of the Pramānasamuccaya;?' furthermore, when referring to Uddyotakara's successful efforts in the defence of the śāstra at an earlier time in the history of Indian philosophy Vācaspati Miśra applies the epithet 'of highest compassion' (paramakāruņika) to Akşapāda22 which may take its inspiration from Dharmakīrti's stress on compassion as the proof or means of the Buddha's being an authority.25
16 Cf. also Thakur (1947: 37). " Cf. NVTT 2, 4-6: yadyapi bhāşyakstā krtavyutpādanam etat tathāpi dignāgaprabhrtibhir arvācīnaih kuhetusantamasasamutthāpanenācchäditam śāstran na tattvanirnayāya paryāptam ity uddyotakarena svanibandhoddyotena tad apanīyata iti prayojanavān ārambha iti. 18 Cf. NVTT 2, 10 (cf. the quotation below, n. 22). 19 Cf. NVTT 1, 5-6: namāmi dharmavijñānavairāg yaiśvaryaśāline / nidhaye vägviśuddhīnām akşapädāya tāyine //. 20 On the original meaning and development of the term tāyin, cf. Roth (1968). 4 Cf. Hattori, loc. cit. (cf. n. 13 above). This occurrence is evidence for the fact that the meaning of protector had been attached to the Sanskritized term täyin even before the seventh or eighth century, that is, the period which has roughly been assumed by Roth for this change (cf. Roth, 1968: 61). 22 Cf. NVT? 2, 10: paramakāruņiko hi bhagavān munir jagad eva duhkhapankamagnam uddidhirşuh śästram pranitavān. 24 Cf. PV Pramāṇasiddhi chapter, v. 34; see also Franco (1997: 19ff.).