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NEW SANSKRIT-FRAGMENTS OF PRAMĀŅAVINIŚCAYAH,
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 Pramāņaviniscayaḥ, its first chapter on pratyakşam". Only two years later the long and somewhat mysteriously delayed edition of Bhāsarvajña's Nyāyabhūşaņam has been welcomed.
We have known for a long time of the great importance of Bhäsarvajña's own commentary for the history of the older Nyāya from his short Nyāyasärah, from several later commentaries already published, from numerous references to and quotations from the Nyāyabhūṣaṇam in later Jinistic, Nyāya-Vaiseșika and Vedāntic philosophical texts and above all from a considerable number of quotations in polemical passages of Jñānaśrīmitra's and Ratnakirti's works. But the Nyāyabhūşaņam deserves interest not only for the philosophical qualities of its author and the very personal and to some extent "heterodox" character of his Nyāya-Vaiseșika 5, it is also an inestimable mine of
1 TILMANN VETTER, Dharmakirti's Pramăņaviniscayah, 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-Bhāsarvajña-pranītasya Nyāyasārasya svopajñam vyākhyānam Nyāyabhūşanam. SVĀMI YOGINDRĀNANDA ... samp., Şaddarganaprakāśanagranthamālā 1, Vārāṇasi 1968 (abbreviated NBhūş).
3 Vasudeva's Nyāyasärapadapañcikā (ed. by V. ABHYANKAR and C.R. DEVADHAR, Poona 1922), Aparārkadeva's Nyāyamuktavali, Anandānubhavācārya's Nyâyakalanidhih (ed. S. SUBRAHMANYA SASTRI and V. Su. BRAHMANYA SASTRI, Madras 1961 = Madras Gov. Or. Ser. 167).
• 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 Nyāya-thought. For practical
