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xv] The Philosophy of Bhāskara's Bhāsya 9 ceived intellectual operation, then another entity might be inferred as the cause of that unperceived entity, and another to explain that and so on, and we have a vicious infinite (anavasthā). Moreover, no unperceived entity can be infcrred as the cause of the perceived intellectual operation; for, if it is unperceived, then its relation with intellectual operation is also unperceived, and how can there be any inference at all? Thus, cognition is what we directly experience (anubhava) and there is no unperceived entity which causes it, but it is the direct result of the joint operation of many accessories. This objective cognition is entirely different from the subjective consciousness or self-consciousness; for the latter is eternal and always present, whereas the former is only occasioned by the collocating circumstances. It is easy to see that Bhāskara has a very distinct epistemological position, which, though similar to Nyāya so far as the objective cognition is concerned, is yet different therefrom on account of his admission of the ever-present self-consciousness of the soul. It is at the same time different from the Sankarite epistemology, for objective cognition is considered by him not as mere limitation of self-consciousness, but as entirely different therefrom?. It may also be noted that, unlike Dharmarājādhvarindra, the writer of the Sanskrit episiemological work, Vedānta-paribhāṣā, Bhāskara considers manas as a sense-organ. On the subject of the self-validity of knowledge Bhāskara thinks that the knowledge of truth is always self-valid (svatah-pramāņa), whereas the knowledge of the false is always attested from outside (parataḥ pramāna).
As has already been said, Bhāskara does not think that liberation can be attained through knowledge alone; the duties imposed by the scriptures must always be done along with our attempts to know Brahman; for there is no contradiction or opposition between knowledge and performance of the duties enjoined by the scriptures. There will be no liberation if the duties are forsaken*. The state of salvation is one in which there is a continuous and unbroken consciousness of happiness. A liberated soul may associate or not associate itself with any body or sense as it likes. It is as omniscient,
kecid āhuḥ ātmā pramāyām indriya-dvāropādhi-nirgama-vişayeşu vartate... tad idam asamyag darśanam;... alokendriyādibhyo jñānam utpadyamānam... canyad iti yuktam. Bhāskara-bhāşya.
2 Ibid. 11. 4. 17. 3 Ibid. 1. 4. 21.
4 Ibid. III. 4. 26. 6 Ibid. iv. 4. 8.
6 Ibid. iv. 4. 12.
