The Meaning of the Sentence in Indian Philosophy

The project aims at a fully documented critical edition and an English translation of an important section of the Nyayamanjari (chapter 6, section 2), in which the mainstream theories on sentence-signification are discussed from the points of view of the Nyaya and Mimamsa traditions. The Nyayamanjari was composed in Kashmir, in the second half of the ninth century CE, by Bhatta Jayanta. It is an encyclopaedic treatise of theses concerning ontological, epistemological and linguistic issues developed in the classical period of Indian philosophy. The Nyayamanjari is often used by historians of Indian philosophy to study classical Nyaya as well as other traditions, due to the accuracy with which rival theories are often presented by Jayanta. Moreover, the work has become a landmark in the historiography of Indian philosophy also because its approximate date is confirmed by both internal and external evidences. The Nyayamanjari is therefore a crucial work in the study of the history of ideas and for the chronology of related works and their authors. Despite its relevance, however, the Nyayamanjari has been only partially translated into English, and the history of its textual transmission is in many respects unknown. The new critical edition will be based on a comprehensive inventory of all known the sources, on a detailed description of the manuscripts, on a genealogical study of the textual transmission, and on a rich apparatus of the indirect transmission. The new edition will significantly improve the knowledge of Jayanta`s work. The main purpose of the English translation is to integrate the critical edition by a transparent exposition of the editorial choices. The translation will also include the first English rendering of the Granthibhanga, the only extant commentary on the Nyayamanjari. A detailed and interactive glossary of the technical terms, based on definitions and applications of the terms developed on the basis of Jayanta`s definitions and usages, will be built along with the translation. In both the Sanskrit text and the English translation the structure of arguments and counter-arguments will be brought in full evidence, since the identification of the views of the schools involved in the debate is a necessary condition for the correct interpretation of the text. The results of the project will be relevant to philologists, historians of Sanskrit and general linguistics, historians of Indian philosophy (particularly philosophy of language), and specialists of Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vyakarana. The critically edited text and the English translation will lay down a solid foundation for thematic studies on the philosophical contents of this specific Nyayamanjari section, particularly in relation to atomistic and holistic theories of signification of sentences. The project will thus benefit todays philosophical and linguistic discourses related to historically, geographically and linguistically distant ideas.

A reliable edition and translation of the monumental Nyayamanjari of Bhatta Jayanta, active in 9th century Kashmir, has long been a desideratum, as this influential author is one of the most studied thinkers of pre-modern Sanskrit philosophy. The project, building from the achievements of FWF Project M1160-G15, has targeted the section of the Nyayamanjari on sentence compositionality, within the sixth book of Jayanta's work, where different competing theories are debated by Jayanta. The critical edition and the translation of this section has been gradually improved throughout several reading sessions involving fellow scholars. The philosophical contents has been discussed throughout three yearly international workshops (2018--2020) and made available through the project's publications. From this study Jayanta emerges as an empiricist who tries to enrich is own tradition of Nyaya (logic and epistemology) by staging eloquent and intellectually honest debates in a sophisticated and compelling dialectical style. Unlike many other Sanskrit authors, Jayanta reveals an awareness of the history of ideas preceding his time and is therefore a milestone in the history of Sanskrit philosophy. Through his earnest engagement with antagonistic disciplines such as Mimamsa (hermeneutics) and Vyakarana (philosophy of grammar), he is eventually able to import the tenets of these disciplines and thus enriching his own tradition of Nyaya. Without a readable philosophical translation this masterpiece cannot be known beyond Sanskrit studies. This project contributed in filling this gap.