Alamban Pariksha

Author(s): Dinnaga, Dharmapala, N Aiyaswami Shastri
Publisher: Adyar Library

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This commentary and the commentary on Nyāyamukha are not now available. Nanjio's Catalogue mentions four works in his credit: (1) Ālambanaparīkşavyakhya No. 1174, (2) Vidyāmatrasiddhi No. 1197, (3) Satasāstravaipulyavyakhya No. 1198, (4) Vidyāmatrasiddhis'āstra No. 1210.
As regards his date, I-tsing A.D. 671-695 speaks of him as contemporary of Bhart;hari who, according to the same Chinese authority died in about A.D. 651-52. It is also believed that he was the elder contemporary of Dharmakīrti who flourished in the middle of the 7th century A.D., and that the latter was the pupil of the former. In the present commentary of Dharmapāla, there are two quotations, both agreeing in spirit with the verses of Pramāņavārtika of Dharmakirti (v. pp. 61, 67). It is not certain whether the former quotes from the latter or they both cite them from a common source. This. Dharmapāla seems to be the same as the teacher of Sīlabhadra who received Hiuen Tsang at Nalandā in 635 A.D. (v. Takakusu, Record of the Bud. Religion by I-tsing, XIV). Prof. H. . Ui has, however, fixed 539-70 A.D. as Dharmapala's palmy days on the authority of Kwechi's commentary on the Vijñaptimatratasiddhi which is reported to have stated that Dharmapāla died in the 32nd year of his age and was one year younger
Instances are not lacking to make us believe that Dharmakirti's Pramānavārtika contains quotation from some earlier works ; e.g., the verses cafa fa quat, etc., of the Ratnāvali of Nāgārjuna (ed. G. Tucci, in Journal of R.A.S. 1934, April) found in the Pram. vārtika, L. 221, p. 87.