Indian Antiquary Vol 44

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 92

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(APRIL, 1916
There is no essence in things inasmuch as they are discerned by our intellect."
(This refers probably to Vijanavada).
"We cannot ascertain the essence of things which are discerned by our intellect."
(This is a verse propounding Vijñanava
da).
2. Sphatikeapi aparaparotpatteh kxamikat- 2.Nirvyâpâram k anikam vid vyaktinám ahetuh.
viviktam k ayavarjitam! (Nyayasatra 3-2-11).
Anutpattiñca dharmânâm Notpattivinásakiranopalabdheh (Nya ya- Karikarthan vadamyaham | sútra 3-2-13).
Utpattyanantaram bhangam na vai desemi valikah.Il
(Lankávatára-sútra, Chap. VI). “Even in the case of a crystal there is no "A momentary thing is that which is cause for the production of one after an- devoid of function, is distinct and not liable other, because all individuals are momen- to destruction. By saying that a thing is tary.'
momentary I mean that it is not produced. This is, we reply, not so because we do I do not, 0 dull people, teach destruction perceive the cause of production and deg. after production." truction."
Vátsyâyana in explaining the Buddhist (According to the Lankavatára (Chapter view of aphorism 8-2-11 says that if we VI-Kanika-parivarta) thing which is suppose all things to be momentary, the momentary (Kamika) is neither produced crystal which is produced cannot be the nor destroyed but is devoid of all functions. same one which is destroyed. In explaining Vätsyâyana controverts this view by supNyaya view in aphorism 3-2-13 Vâtsyâyana porting his Naiyyika predecessors that says that we do perceive one and the same things are not momentary inasmuch as crystal undergoing production and destruc- they undergo production and destruction by tion by the increase and decrease of its the increase and decrease of their parts.). parts.
Date of Vatsya yana. From the extraots cited above it is evident that Vâtsyâyana flourished before Dignaga and possibly also before Vasubandhu, and as these two Buddhist logicians lived about A.D. 500 and A. D. 480 respectively the latest date that can be assigned to Vâtsyâyana is about A. D. 450.
The quotations from the Arthaíastra and the Mahabhá ya show that Vatsyayana lived after 150 B.C., while the extracts from the Madhyamika-Sutra and the Larkivatára-Sutra leave no room for doubt that the authors of these two works preceded Vâtsyayana. Hence the earliest limit of his age is A.D. 300', when the addhyamika-8útra and the Lankavatára-sútra are supposed to have been composed. Taking the mean between the earliest and latest dates we may approximately place Vâtsyâyana at about A.D. 400, when Maitreyanatha the founder of the Yogacara school of the Buddhist philosophy lived and farished. The Abhisamayalankara-sútra, which is one of the principal works of the
• Vide my History of the Medieval School of Indian Logic, pp. 75, 80. * Op. cit., pp. 68, 72.