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Refutation of Advaita Vedanta in Major
Jaina Works
1
Yajneshwar S. Shastri
History of Indian philosophy tells us that all the systems of Indian philosophy developed in the atmosphere of freedom of thought. There was a tradition in Indian philosophical platform to present opponent's view first known as the purvapakșa (prior view) and then establishment of one's own view by refuting opponent's stand-point known as the uttarapaksa or siddhanta (conclusion). This kind of method inspired the Indian thinkers to study thoroughly views of all others prior to the establisement of their own system of philosophy and gave thoroughness, perfection and catholic spirit to their system. Jaina philosophers also following the same broad-minded tradition, presented views of all the systems of Indian thought with considerable care and established their own principles refuting opponent's view with logical rigour. But it is very intersting to note that just as great thinkers of other schools of thought such as Bhartṛhari,1 Kumārilabhatta,2 Prabhakara, Jayantabhatta and Udayana5 who treated only Advaita as real Vedanta system, similarly eminent philosophical personalities
1
4
yatra drasta ca drsyam ca darsanam ca vikalpanam tasyaivarthasya satyat vamahustrayanta vedinath-Vakyapadiya, III-II, 200, pub. L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, 1984.
2 dvaitapaksat paranudya budhyasaddhisamasrayat paramat manamevaikam tattvam tattavavido vidhuh-Brhattika, quoted in Vedantadarsanam (R.P.), Pt. S. Subrahmanya Shastri, pub. Varanasiya Sanskrit Visvavidyalaya, 1967.
3 yastu brahmavadinamesa niscayo yadupalabhyate na tat tathyam yannopalabhyate tattathyamiti namastebhyo-Brhati, part-I, p. 239, pub. University of Madras, 1934.
atra tavat vedantina ahuh
nitysukhamatmano mahat vavadastityagapramanyadabhyupagamyatam tacca samsaradasasayam avidyavaranavasena nanubhuyate -Nyayamanjari, II, Apavarga Pariksa, pp. 431-2, pub. Oriental Institute, Mysore,
1983.
5 suddhabuddhasvabhava ityaupanisadah-Nyaya Kusumanjali, I, pp. 4-5, pub. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, Benares, 1912.
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