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NEW SANSKRIT-FRAGMENTS OF PRAMĀŅAVINISCAYAḤ, FIRST CHAPTER
By Ernst Steinkellner, Vienna
TILMANN VETTER has published in 1966 an edition of the Tibetan translation together with the known Sanskrit-fragments and a German translation of Dharmakirti's Pramaṇaviniścayaḥ, its first chapter on pratyakṣam1. Only two years later the long and somewhat mysteriously delayed edition of Bhāsarvajña's Nyāyabhūṣaṇam has been welcomed 2. We have known for a long time of the great importance of Bhāsarvajña's own commentary for the history of the older Nyaya from his short Nyayasaraḥ, from several later commentaries already published3, from numerous references to and quotations from the Nyayabhuṣaṇam in later Jinistic, Nyaya-Vaiseṣika and Vedantic philosophical texts and above all from a considerable number of quotations in polemical passages of Jñānaśrīmitra's and Ratnakirti's works. But the Nyayabhūṣaṇam deserves interest not only for the philosophical qualities of its author and the very personal and to some extent "heterodox" character of his Nyaya-Vaiseṣika 5, it is also an inestimable mine of
1 TILMANN VETTER, Dharmakirti's Pramaņaviniścayaḥ, 1. Kapitel: Pratyakşam; Einleitung, Text der tibetischen Übersetzung, Sanskritfragmente, deutsche Übersetzung. Öst. Ak. Phil.-hist. Kl. 250/3, Wien 1966 (abbreviated PVin I).
I have used the abbreviations of VETTER's edition. Tib. refers to the Tibetan translation.
2 Srimadācārya-Bhasarvajña-praṇītasya Nyayasarasya svopajñam vyākhyānam Nyāyabhūṣaṇam. SVĀMI YOGINDRĀNANDAḤ Şaḍdarśanaprakāśanagranthamālā 1, Vārāņasi 1968 (abbreviated NBhus).
samp.,
3 Vasudeva's Nyayasarapadapañcika (ed. by V. ABHYANKAR and C. R. DEVADHAR, Poona 1922), Apararkadeva's Nyayamuktāvali, Anandā. nubhavācārya's Nyāyakalanidhiḥ (ed. S. SUBRAHMANYA SASTRI and V. SUBRAHMANYA SASTRI, Madras 1961 Madras Gov. Or. Ser. 167).
4 Ed. by A. THAKUR, Patna 1959, 1957 = Tib. Skt. Works Ser. 5, 3. 5 Due to the fragmentary tradition we still do not know very much about the real width and possibilities of early Nyaya-thought. For practical
