Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 217

NOVEMBER, 1929 ]
A.S.B.
BENGAL'S CONTRIBUTION TO PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE IN SANSKRAP.
BY CHINTAHARAN CHAKRAVARTI, M.A.
List of Abbreviations.
Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Government Collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, by Mm. H. P. Shastri. Bibliotheca Indica Series, published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta.
Epigraphia Indica.
Bib. Ind. C.S.
Ep. Ind.
Hall
H.P.S. 1.0.
J.B.O.R.S.
L.
Report
S.S.P.
..
BENGAL'S PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE IN SANSKRIT
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201
A Contribution towards an Index to the Bibliography of Indian Systems of Philosophy, by Fitz Edward Hall, 1859.
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (New Series), by Mm. Haraprasad Shastri. Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the India Office Library, London.
Journal of the Behar and Orissa Research Society.
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts, by Raja Rajendralal Mitra.
Report on the Search of Sanskrit Manuscripts, by Mm. H. P. Shastri. Sanskrit Sahitya Parishat, Calcutta.
BENGAL'S contribution to philosophical literature is generally supposed to have been confined to Nyâya, specially in its later stage when Navya-nyaya was evolved out of an amalgamation of Nyâya with Vaiseṣika. This supposition is no doubt partially true when we take into consideration the immense literature that was produced on the subject in Bengal for several centuries. But on a careful study of all available materials it would appear that it does not represent the whole truth on the subject. As a matter of fact, Bengal made her contribution to other schools of philosophy as well, though it must be admitted that this was not as voluminous and as important as that in the field of Nyâya.
We are handicapped to some extent by the lack of sufficient materials in making any enquiry into the history of the philosophical speculation of Bengal before the rise of Navyanyâya, i.e., roughly before the sixteenth century. But even with the scanty material at our disposal we are in a position to say that scholars of Bengal cultivated, though to a compara. tively small extent, almost all the various systems of Indian philosophy. Thus manuscripts in Bengalee script of works representing the various systems are known to have been found in various places. Treatises and commentaries written by Bengalees on the different systems are also not unknown. References made to the views of the various schools, either for refutation or for support in the works of Bengal-especially in the Nyâya works-point to the same conclusion. It is, however, possible that those references are not in all cases, evidence of the direct acquaintance of the authors with the works from which they are made. In some cases, at least, they are made from hearsay, and this is how we can explain the misrepresentations and misinterpretations met with in some works.
From the information available at present it seems that in earlier days from about the seventh century of the Christian era Bengal cultivated Pûrvamîmâ usâ and Vaisesika to some extent. The whole of eastern India was about this time pre-eminently Buddhist and consequently Buddhist philosophy was also assiduously studied. From the twel.th or thirteenth century a decay in the study of Mimâmsa seems to have set in, and it began to be cultivated in so far as its principles were required for the elucidation of Smrti texts. At this period, however, Vedanta and Samkhya appeared to have attracted the notice of Bengal. The Samkhya system, however, did not develop here to any appreciable extent. But the study of the Vedanta system became very popular with a large section of the people-the Vaisnavasand a fair amount of literature was consequently produced. And it was about the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century that the study of Nyaya-Vaiseşika
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