Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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Pandit Sukhlalji's Philosophical Notes On Acārya Hemacandra's Pramāņamīmāmsā.
Dr. Madhusudan Baxi
Hemcandra (1089-1172A.D.) was a distinguished Jaina philosopher born in Dhandhuka (Gujarat). Sukhlalji Sanghavi (1880-1978), was a distinguished scholar of Indian philosophy. Sukhlalji has introduced, translated, edited, commented upon and summarized important texts of Indian philosophers like Umāsvāti, Siddhasena Divākara, Dharmakīrti, Jayarāśi Bhatta, Yasovijayaji and others.
Sukhlalji has analyzed Acārya Hemacandra's text with reference to the light it throws on Indian philosophical traditions in general. His way of reading philosophical texts in the context of history of the traditions concerned is very interesting and fruitful. Sukhlalji's historical-developmentalcomparative approach to Indian philosophies is very fruitful for understanding how philosophical problems were dealt with in a particular school of Indian philosophy by its followers and how their solutions have been increasingly refined in response to critical examination of the problems by the thinkers of the different schools.
This paper discusses some questions about Indian philosophy and philosophy in general arising out of Pandit Sukhlalji's analysis of Acārya Hemacandra's Pramāṇamīmāmsā. Sukhlalji's Introduction, Preface and Notes are very important not only for understanding Hemcandra's contribution to the Jaina epistemology and ontology, but also for the problem of authentic intercultural understanding in the context of the plurality of Indian philosophical systems.
I have based my analysis here on the work edited by Nagin ShahHemacandra's Pramāṇamīmāmsā -A Critique of organ of knowledge; A work on Jaina Logic; Shah (2002).
Shah' work includes the following;
(1) Sanskrit text of Pramāṇamīmāmsā in Roman, script printed for the first time and specially prepared for this work.
(2) The English translation of Hemacandra's Pramāṇamīmāmsā by Mookerjee and N. Tatia,
(3) Indukala Jhaveri' English translation of Sukhlalji's extensive Introduction (in Hindi).
(3) K.K.Dixit's English translation of Sukhlalji's notes and Sukhlalji's Preface (in Hindi).
(4) Dixit's own introduction to Sukhlalji's notes and (5) Shah's own editorial introduction.
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