Tibetan Citations Of Bhartrharis Verses And Problem Of His Date

SR No.: 269718
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Hajime Nakamura
Publisher: Hajime Nakamura
Total Pages: 15
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 2 MB

Page 12

BHARTṚHARI'S VERSES
133
Punyarāja prefaced to the verse." Again a Jain writer, Simhasürigani, who may be assigned to the beginning of the sixth century A. D., in his unpublished work, Nayacakratika, a commentary on the Nayacakra of Mallavadin the senior," which is not now extant, mentions, twice in his work, Vasurata the Upadhyaya of Bhartṛhari.33) This confirms the statement of Punyaraja and establishes that Vasurāta was a great grammarian of the day under whom Bhartṛhari studied and that Bhartṛhari often held views quite different from those of his master.
According to Paramartha, Vasurata was a Brahmin and brother-in-law of Baladitya, a pupil of Vasubandhu. He was well-versed in grammar. He defeated Vasubandhu, through the intervention of Chandra, another great grammarian. This means that Vasurata, Chandra, and Vasubandhu should be regarded as contemporaries and Bhartṛhari, the pupil of Vasurata, assigned to the fifth century A. D."
Another piece of evidence of much more importance was discovered by him. In the fifth chapter of Dignaga's Pramana-samaccaya, which is devoted to the exposition of the Apoha theory, the following two Kārikās are found:
thigs pa dan ni tshogs pa yi/ chu sogs rnams la rjod byed ni/
grans dan tshad dan dbyibs rnams la/ Itos pa med par hjug par byed // dbyibs dan kha dog yan lag rnams/ khyad par can la gan hjug pa / de yi yan lag la sgra ni/
rab tu hjug la dun asma yi //
[The above-mentioned Tibetan verses have been cited from Mr. Iyengar's article. According to the Sde-dge edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons kept by Tohoku University, Sendai, the sentences run as follows:
la lar dños su rjod par byed de dper na /
grans dan mtshan ñid dan ni dbyibs/ Itos pa med par rab tu hjug/ chu la sogs pahi thigs pa dan/ hdus pa la yan rjod par byed//
:
31 Cf. ibid. atha kadacit yogato vicārya tatra bhagavata Vasurataguruņa mamayam agamaḥ samjñāya vatsalyāt praṇita iti svaracitasya granthasya gurupūrvakam abhidhātum äha.
3: This Mallaradin should be distinguished from another Jain writer of the same name who is the author of Nyayabinduṭippani.
33 Cf. Nayacakratika, folio 272a: so 'bhijalpo 'bhidheyarthaparigrahi bahyaç chabdad anya iti Bhartṛharyadimatam / Vasuratasya Bhartṛharyupadhyayasya matam tu... Cf. ibid., folio 277a: evan tavat Bhartṛharyadidarśanam uktam / Vasurătaḥ Bhartṛharer upadhyāyaḥ
Cf. "A study of Paramartha's life of Vasubandhu and the Date of Vasubandhu" by J. Takakusu JRAS, 1905, pp. 33 ff.