Mahavidya Vidambanam

Author(s): Bhatta Vadindra, Bhuvansundarsuri, Mangesh Ramkrishna Telang
Publisher: Central Library

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Pandita only once, and Mahâvidyâ1 and Vâdîndra several times in his commentary Nayanaprasâdinî on Chitsukhâchârya's Tattvapradîpiká.
Thus from the foregoing references we find that the Mahavidyâ syllogisms were first known in the 12th century and since then they have been referred to by some authors till the 15th century of the Christian era. But it is rather curious that none of the Maithila and Bengal Naiyâyiks of the Modern school such as Gangesopadhyaya, Raghunatha Siromani, Mathurânâtha, Jagadiśa, Gadâdhara and others mention Mahâvidya, Kulârka Pandita Vádindra and his Mahavidya-vidambana in the discussion of the Kevalânvayihetu in their works.
Date of Mahavidya-From all the above evidence we can definitely say that the method of Mahavidyâ syllogisms had its origin before the 12th century. From the statements made by Vâdîndra and Bhuwanasundara in their works, it is certain that one Kulârka Pandita. was the author of the ten Mahävidyá Kárikás (verses) or दशश्लोकीमहा विद्यासूत्र.
Who is Kulárka Pandita-As regards the life and date of Kulârka Pandita very little can be gathered. The only manuscript of Daśaśloki-Mahâvidya Sûtra that was furnished to me does not give any information about the author of the work either in the beginning or end. It contains no Mangala verses. Nor do the ten verses possess any internal evidence to determine the name of its author. The authorship of these verses is ascribed to Kulârka Pandita on the authority of the statements made by Vâdîndra, Bhuvanasundara and Pratyagrupa-bhagavân in their works.
My learned friend T. M. Tripathi Esq. B. A. of Bombay in his Introduc⚫ tion to the Tarkasangraha of Ánandajnâna p. xix says "Kulârka Pandita does not seem to be a proper name but originally an epithetical name-PanditaKulârka (i. e. the sun in the assemblage of learned men) mistaken for a proper name by separating the first word Pandita and transposing it." This may perhaps be so but it gives us no clue to find out the real name of Kulârka Pandita.
Whether Kulárka Pandita is identical with Siváditya MiśraVâdîndra at the beginning of the third chapter of his Mahavidyâ-vidambana says as follows:-"Since Sivâditya and other logicians knowing that the positive-negative probans is nullified by Upâdhi (accident) have proclaimed the Mahavidyâ syllogisms, I, Vâdîndra, the religions councillor of King Śrisimha have made these efforts to refute them."
1 See Tattva-pradipika pages 13, 21, 181, 184, 206, 243, 284 and 289. N. S. Edition 2 See Ditto pages, 171, 181, 183, 184, 206, 208, 221, 235, 286 and 243. 3 उपाधिव्याधिनिर्धूतमन्वयव्यतिरेकिणम् ।
मत्वोद्भिन्नमहाविद्याः शिवादित्यादितार्किकाः ॥ २॥
तेषामेष विशेषेण निराकरणसंभ्रमः ।
श्रीसिंहधर्माध्यक्षेण वादीन्द्रेण विधीयते ॥ ३ ॥
2
Aho! Shrutgyanam
महाविद्याविडम्बन पृ. ९९