Nyayamanjari Part 01

Author(s): Jayant Bhatt, Chakradhar, Gaurinath Shastri
Publisher: Sampurnand Sanskrit Vishva Vidyalay

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his expressions are full of humour and do not smack of bad taste and discourtesy on any account.
Brought up in Vedic traditions Jayanta evinces deep scholarship in and love for the Vedic lore. When he seeks to establish the authority of the Vedas he feels that he can do so more convincingly than any Mimāmsaka by placing his claims on a more secure foundation acceptable to his critics and opponents. Particular mention must be made of how he advances his arguments in recognition of the authority of Atharvaveda which has led scholars to presume that he inherits its traditions and owes his personal allegiance to the same. Jayanta's mastery over the Pūrvamīmāmsá system is unique His solid self-confidence enables him to criticise Kumārila with courage and conviction and refute his view in a manner that exhibits the sharp power of analytical judgement. Besides, his acquaintance with the school of Dinnāga and Dharmakirti is so thorough-going and his presentation of the views of the Buddhists is so precise, methodical and intimate that it leaves the impression that his intellectual honesty and fairness is above all suspicion.
As a writer on Nyāya he has three works to his credit. Besides Nyāyamañjarī, his other two works are Nyāyakalikā 1 and Nyāyapallaya. The former was published in Saraswati Bhavana Texts Series ( 17 ) on the basis of a manuscript in Saraswati Bhavana Library. Obviously, this is a work intended for the beginner. There are quotations of seven verses of Nyāyapallava. Jayanta's Āgamadambara is a play in four acts, which reveals his poetic gifts. There is an elegance in his prose style and the employment of the different figures
1. The work is an abstract summary of Nyāya-views on the sixteen
categories and gives a bare outline of the author's own interpretation, appearing at greater length in the Manjari on Gotama's Sutras dealing with these categories.