Metaphysics and Epistemology of the Nyaya Tradition II

The Nyaya ("logic"), one of the most important traditions of classical Indian philosophy until the modern period, crystallised as a systematic full-fledged philosophical tradition, with a strong emphasis on metaphysics and epistemology, during the time of Gupta rule in South Asia (fourth to sixth centuries). Its central foundational treatise in five chapters, the Nyayasutra ascribed to sage Akshapada of the Gotama clan, must have been finalised by anonymous redactors towards the middle of the fifth century and was fully commented upon briefly afterwards by the philosopher Vatsyayana Pakshilasvamin. This early commentary, which is simply known as the Nyayabhashya ("Commentary on Nyaya"), is of crucial importance not only for our understanding of the early phase of Nyaya philosophy, but also for our knowledge of the other philosophical traditions that formed during the Gupta era and the immediately preceding Kushana era, because only a fraction of the rich literary and scholarly production of this period has survived over the centuries. The Nyayabhashya is also the main testimony for the earliest shape, as regards its extent and wording, of the Nyayasutra. This high significance of the work, together with the frequently unsatisfactory state of the transmitted Sanskrit text as it is presented in the printed editions, calls for a new, truly critical edition of the text. Subsequent to a first two-year FWF project in which foundations were laid for such an edition, the project aims to continue to establish a critical text up to the end of the third chapter (about two thirds of the text) in reliance on all available original manuscripts and under consideration of the (sub- )commentaries as well as of the secondary, independent testimony provided by other philosophical works of the classical and early medieval period. For this purpose about 60 manuscripts of the Nyayabhashya, copies of which were procured and utilised by the initial project, will continue to be taken as basis. Further effort will be made to obtain copies of some already known manuscripts and to locate still unknown exemplars in South Asian collections. The other menthioned primary sources, which will also be studied in manuscript form, will enhance our understanding of the text with a view to establishing its probably original wording. Customised special software which can handle the complex and extensive data will be used for the collation and establishment of the critical edition. The resulting, more reliable and well-founded text will serve as the basis of studies on selected core topics of the Nyaya philosophy and can also form the basis for a new critical translation, supplemented by in-depth philological and related historical annotation, which will be the aim of a future project. In this way a well-reasoned and historically contextualised textual picture of metaphysics and epistemology as developed and maintained in the classical Nyaya tradition in its initial phase will emerge. The project is designed to present the full evidence for the established critical text and for the history of transmission of the Nyayabhashya as well as the Nyayasutra itself to scholars of Classical South Asia and especially to scholars of its philosophy. Furthermore, a contribution will be made to the documentation of the threatened cultural treasure of South Asian philosophical manuscripts in Sanskrit.

The Nyaya ("logic"), one of the most important traditions of classical Indian philosophy until the modern period, crystallised as a systematic full-fledged philosophical tradition, with a strong emphasis on metaphysics and epistemology, during the time of Gupta rule in South Asia (fourth to sixth centuries). Its central foundational treatise in five chapters, the Nyayasutra ascribed to sage Akshapada of the Gotama clan, must have been finalised by anonymous redactors towards the middle of the fifth century and was fully commented upon briefly afterwards by the philosopher Vatsyayana Pakshilasvamin. This early commentary, which is simply known as the Nyayabhashya ("Commentary on Nyaya"), is of crucial importance not only for our understanding of the early phase of Nyaya philosophy, but also for our knowledge of the other philosophical traditions that formed during the Gupta era and the immediately preceding Kushana era, because only a fraction of the rich literary and scholarly production of this period has survived over the centuries. The Nyayabhashya is also the main testimony for the earliest shape, as regards its extent and wording, of the Nyayasutra. This high significance of the work, together with the frequently unsatisfactory state of the transmitted Sanskrit text as it is presented in the printed editions, calls for a new, truly critical edition of the text. Subsequent to a first two-year FWF project in which foundations were laid for such an edition, the project aims to continue to establish a critical text up to the end of the third chapter (about two thirds of the text) in reliance on all available original manuscripts and under consideration of the (sub- )commentaries as well as of the secondary, independent testimony provided by other philosophical works of the classical and early medieval period. For this purpose about 60 manuscripts of the Nyayabhashya, copies of which were procured and utilised by the initial project, will continue to be taken as basis. Further effort will be made to obtain copies of some already known manuscripts and to locate still unknown exemplars in South Asian collections. The other menthioned primary sources, which will also be studied in manuscript form, will enhance our understanding of the text with a view to establishing its probably original wording. Customised special software which can handle the complex and extensive data will be used for the collation and establishment of the critical edition. The resulting, more reliable and well-founded text will serve as the basis of studies on selected core topics of the Nyaya philosophy and can also form the basis for a new critical translation, supplemented by in-depth philological and related historical annotation, which will be the aim of a future project. In this way a well-reasoned and historically contextualised textual picture of metaphysics and epistemology as developed and maintained in the classical Nyaya tradition in its initial phase will emerge. The project is designed to present the full evidence for the established critical text and for the history of transmission of the Nyayabhashya as well as the Nyayasutra itself to scholars of Classical South Asia and especially to scholars of its philosophy. Furthermore, a contribution will be made to the documentation of the threatened cultural treasure of South Asian philosophical manuscripts in Sanskrit.