4. Ācārya Dharmakīrti and His Works

Ācārya Dharmakīrti was born in the kingdom of Cūḍamaṇi (Trimalya). Cūḍāmaṇi is probably another name of the Coḍa or the Cola country in the Deccan. His father was a great scholar of Hindu tradition. Dharmakīrti was Brahman and he is skilled in fine arts, Vedas and Vedāṅgas, grammar and the theories of Tīrthas. He lived about 635-650 AD.^[1] I-tsing, a Chinese traveller in his records, states that he was a follower of Diṅnāga philosophy and made further improvement in the logic. He was a disciple of Dharmapāla and learnt vows from him.^[2] Dharmakīrti later attracts towards the logical problems of Buddhism.

According to records, Diṅnāga was not alive when Dharmakīrti wanted to learn from him. So, he learnt from Iśvarasena who was a pupil of Diṅnāga. After learning Buddhist logic he wrote a commentary on Diṅnāga.

The Works of Dharmakīrti

The contribution of him to Indian Buddhism in general and Diṅnāga’s school of logic and epistemology in particular, is expressed in his seven main treatises. Of the seven works, only the Nyāyabindu is available in Sanskrit and the rest six are available in Tibetan. These seven treatises are as follows:

1. Pramāṇavārttika-kārika (TM. No. 4210) -It is one of the great works written by him. The original work which was written in Sanskrit seems to be lost. The Tibetan version of this was written by the Indian scholar Subhūti-Śri-Śānti which is preserved in Tibet. In Tibetan, it is called Tshad-man-rnam-hgrel-gyitshig which signifies “memorial verses explanatory of pramāṇa or source of knowledge”. The work consists of four chapters. The first chapter is about inference for one’s own self (svārthānumāna). The second chapter discusses the establishment of pramāṇa (pramāṇasiddhi). The third chapter deals with perception (pratyakṣa) and the last chapter discusses words for the sake of others (parārthaanumāna-vākya). Later the commentary on this work was written by Manorathanandin etc. Pramāṇa-vārttika-vṛtti- Pramāṇavārttikavṛtti is a sub-commentary on the Pramāṇavārttika which is written by Dharmakīrti himself. The original work written in Sanskrit language appears to be lost. The Tibetan version is called Tshad-ma-mam-hgrel-gyl-bgrel-wa and it is preserved in Tibet.

2. Pramāṇa-Viniścaya (TM. No. 4211)^[3] - It is a great work of logic written by Dharmakīrti. According to S.C.Vidyabhusana the Sanskrit work is appeared to be lost but its Tibetan version still exist. The Tibetan work was translated by the Kashmiri Pandit Parahita Bhadra. In Tibetan it is known as Tshad-ma-man-parnes-pa meaning “Determination of pramāṇa or sources of knowledge.” The work consists of three chapters. The first chapter deals with system of perception (pratyakṣa-vyavastha). The second chapter deals with inference for one’s own self (svārthānumāna) and the last chapter deals with inference for the sake of others (parārthānumāna).

3. Nyāyabindu (TM. 4212) - It is another great work on logic. The Sanskrit original work is written in palm-leaf which is preserved in the Jaina temple of Santinātha at cambay. The work has been published in the Bibliotheca indica series of Calcutta by Professor Peterson. In Tibetan it is known as Rigs-pahi-thigs-pa meaning “A drop of logic”. There are three chapters: Perception (pratyakṣa), Inference for one’s own-self (svārthānumāna) and inference for the sake of others (parārthānumāna).

The first chapter of the work discusses pratyakṣa in detail. Perception is divided into four classes: (1) Perception by the five senses (2) Perception by the mind (3) Self-consciousness and (4) knowledge of a contemplative saint. The nature of perception is also explained. The second chapter is devoted to the definition of inference for one’s own self. The qualities of the middle term and three types of the middle term are also explained in this chapter. The third chapter deals with inference for the sake of others. The three terms minor, major and middle and their relation are discussed. Fallacies of the middle term (hetvābhāsa) and the fallacies of the thesis (pakṣābhāsa) are also discussed in this chapter.

4. Hetu-bindu (TM. No. 4213) - It is another great work on logic written by Dharmakīrti. According to Dr. S.C. Vidyabhusana the original work written in Sanskrit is seems to be lost. In Tibetan language, it is known as Gtan-tshigs-kyithigs-pa meaning “A drop of reason”.

The text is divided into three chapters. It discusses:

-) The relation of “reason on identity” between the major and the middle term (svabhāva-hetu).

-) The relation of “reason on effect and cause” between the major and the middle term (kārya-hetu) and

-) The relation of “the reason based on negation” between the heterogeneous case of major term and the middle term (anupalabdhihetu).

5. Tarkanyāya or Vādanyāya^[4] (TM. No. 4219) - This work discusses the rules of an argument in systematic way. It explains the nature of a formal discipline which regulates the victory and defeat in a debate. According to Vidyabhusana the original work is appeared to be lost, but its Tibetan translation is available in Tibet. The translation of this work is done by an Indian scholar Jñanasrībhadra. But the work Vādanyāya was found later and published by a great thinker named Rahul Sāmkṛtyāyana from Mahabodhi society of Saranath in 1936 with extra notes. It is later edited by Swami Dvarikadass Śastri.

6. Santānāntara Siddhi-This work is also called Tantrāntarasiddhi. It is a work on philosophy. According to S.C. Vidhyabhusana the original of this work is not available while its Tibetan translation is preserved in Tibet. The translation was written by the Indian Scholar Visuddha Simha. In Tibetan language it is known as Rgnyd-gshan-grub-pa meaning “proof of the continuity of succession”. The text is available now in English translation.

7. Sambandha-Parīkṣāprakaraṇa (TM. No. 4214) -This is another excellent philosophical work prepared by Dharmakīrti. The original work written in Sanskrit is appeared to be lost. The Tibetan translation of the work is named Hbrel-wa-brtag-pa, meaning “Examination of connection”. The translation was written by the Indian scholar Jñānagarbha.

8. Sambandha-Parīkṣa-vṛtti-This is a sub-commentary on Sambanda-Parīkṣa written by Dharmakīrti himself. The Sanskrit original of this work is not available. The translation in Tibetan is called Hbrel-wa-brtag-pahi-hgrel-wa. According to S.C. Vidhyabhusana the commentaries with additional notes on basic text were written in Sanskrit by the author himself and it is preserved in Tibet.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Dharmakīrti is said to be a contemporary of the Tibetan king Sroṅ-tsan-gampo (627-698 CE). It seems that when Xuan-zang came to India Dharmakīrti was still young and the latter was not mentioned in the Datang xiyu ji. Yijing (635-713) in his Nanhai jigui neifa chuan aand the records that Dharmakīrti is one of the great Buddhist masters in India. J.Takakusu, A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India and the Malay Archipelago, p.181. S.C. Vidyabhusana, A History of Indian Logic: Ancient Mediaeval and Modern Schools, p.306.

[2]:

Dharmpāla was born in Kāñcī in South India and was the eldest son of a high official. In order to avoid being forced to marry a daughter of the king, he fled to a monastery and then became a famous Vijñānavādin master of the Nālandā University. In 559 CE he retired the leadership from Nālandā to spend the rest of his time in Bodh Gaya, where he passed away at the age of thirty one. Though he passed away at the young age, his influence on the history of Buddhist philosophy in India and China is considerable. Besides his commentary Vasubandhu’s Triṃśikā, being as a grand pupil of Diṅnāga, Dharmapāla also wrote a commentary (now lost) on the Diṅnāga’s Nyāyamukha. It is clear that his philosophical standpoint as depicted in his commentary on the Catuḥśataka had showed his affiliation with the epistemologists. According to the biography of Xuan-zang composed by Hui-li, there were at least four works attributed to Dharmpāla. They were Sheng ming za lun, a commentary on the Catuḥśataka, a commentary on Vijñaptimātratā, and a commentary on logic. T.J.F. Tillemans, Materials for the study of Āryadeva, Dharmapāla and Candrakīrti: The Catuḥśataka of Āryadeva, Chapters XII and XIII, with the commentaries of Dharmapāla and Candrakīrti, pp.8-11. M. Hattori, op.cit, p.2.

[3]:

This work was quoted by Mādhavācārya, a Hindu Philosopher in the 14^th century in his Sarvadarśana-samgraha.

[4]:

Stcherbatsky designates this work as Codanāprakaraṇa. Stchebatsky, Buddhist Logic, Vol. I, p. 37.