The Tattvasangraha of Shantaraksita (2 Vols): with the commentary of Kamalashila

The Tattvasangraha or ‘Compendium of True Doctrines’, as Dr. Jha translates the term, throws a flood of light on the Buddhist metaphysics, logic and epistemology. A remarkable feature of the work is that it reproduces the views of scholars who would otherwise have remained in perfect oblivion. The commentator Kamalasila gives the names of such authors and quotes from them. The work shows the philosophical activities and speculations of nearly three centuries from the time of Dharmakirti down to Uddyotakara. The Tattvasangraha studied along with Uddyotakara’s Nyayavartika and Kumarila’s Slokavartika gives a good picture of the cultural movements of the centuries. The Buddhist attack on the realism sponsored by Nyaya, particularly the refutation of the soul theories which had created a great commotion in the orthodox circles, and the Buddhist criticism of the infallibility of the Vedas which too had given a big jolt, provoked spirited counter-attacks from the orthodox thinkers and a vigorous defence of the faith which succeeded in undermining the prestige of the Buddhist Church. However, the Buddhist also reacted with vigour and the Tattvasangraha pre-eminently represents this phase of the Buddhist reaction.

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About the Author(s)

Dr. Ganganath Jha (b.1871) was a versatile Sanskrit scholar who will ever be remembered for his dedicated and selfless pioneer work and immense contribution in the field. He was Professor of Sanskrit in the Old Muir Central College, Allahabad, and later became Principal of the Government Sanskrit College, Banaras and then the Vice-Chancellor of the Allahabad University for nine years. He wrote more than fifty works on different Indian philosophical systems. He translated many important Sanskrit texts into English. He was the first scholar to write a thesis on The Prabhakara School of Purvamimamsa.