Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (Vol. 13): Nyaya-Vaisesika Philosophy

The aim of this 28-volume Encyclopedia is to present the contents of different streams of Indian Philosophical texts citing experts on the points that seem debatable. The volumes include a Bibliography, a Glossary and treatments of Nyaya-Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, various Vedanta systems and certain philosophi-cally important sects of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, as well as Jaina and Buddhist philosophy.

In this volume the history of Nyaya-Vaisesika is resumed from Volume VI of the Series and brought up to the time of Gadadhara (ca. 1660). This is the period of the great subcommentators (Jagadisa, Mathuranatha, Gada-dhara) on Raghunatha Siromani’s Tattvacinta-manididhita, the culmination of some of the most intricate philosophical analysis the world has ever known. Prof. Sibajiban Bhatta-charyya has in hisextensive Introduction provided a thorough explanation of the basic style and content of these subcommentators, alongwith a readable account of many of the main topics discussed in these works. His Introduction is followed by analyses of some of the chapters of these subcommentaries, provided by those few Indian scholars of recent times able to command the difficulties their interpretation poses. These summaries can be consulted for an initial acquaintance with the topics covered, free from the intricacies of the subcommentaries.

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