________________
154 VALIDITY OF KNOWLEDGE AND OMNISCIENCE
upon him says: "Prama is right knowledge of objects i.e., it is the awareness of an object in its right form, knowledge
of a thing as it really is."62 The instrument of prama is pramaṇa, which is defined as that which causes pramā." 63 However, this view has been further modified by Vacaspati as "pramāņa is valid cognition of an object", 64 which has also been accepted by Udayana65 in conformity with Gotama's tradition. Gangesa, the exponent of Navya-Nyaya describes the older definition and says that prama is knowledge free from fallacy. This seems to be similar to Hemacandra's definition. The Mīmāmsakas, in their definition of pramā, combine "originating from a non-defective cause" (aduṣṭa-kāraṇa-ārabdha) of the Nyaya-Vaiseṣika and "uncontradictedness" (nirābādha) and "novelty" (apūrvartha) of the Buddhists." Among Buddhists. Dinnaga has included "self-cognition" (sva-samvitti)08 in his definition, and Dharmakirti has introduced the term non-discrepant (avisamvadi).69 Sāntarakṣita has tried to work out a syn. thesis between Dinnaga and Dharmakirti. However, for the Buddhists, "there is no instrumentality of the senses, that there are only images and that there is no distinction between consciousness and its content". They do not accept determination' or 'decisiveness' as an essential characteristic of pramāṇa.
The Jainas refute the views of Nyaya, Sarkhya, Mimāmsā and Yoga by accepting the adjective 'sva' since their defini
62 Vätsyāyana, Nyaya-bhāṣya, I. 1.1 co. Annambhatta, Tarka-samgraha, 35. 63 Vätsyäyana, Ibid., I. 1.3.
64 Vacaspati Misra, Tatparya-ṭikā, p. 21. 65 Udayana, Nyaya-kusumāñjali, IV. 1.5. 66 Hemacandra, Pramāṇa-mimāṁsā, I. 1.3. 67 Kumārila, Śloka-varttika, Aup. 10-11.
68 Dinnaga, Pramana-Samuccaya, I. 10.
69 Dharmakirti, Pramāṇa-värttikam, II. 1.
6
70 Bhattacharya, H. M., "Jaina Critique of the Buddhist Theories of Pramāņa", Jaina Antiquary, Vol. XV, No. 1, June, 1949, p. 7.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
