The Stanzas on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata in the Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi
Journal of Indian Philosophy 38 (6):543-552 (2010)
| Abstract | in Āryadevapāda’s Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi we find a problematic passage in which some Cārvāka theories are expounded. The problem here lies in the fact that, according to Āryadevapāda, the Cārvākas – who did not admit rebirth – would have upheld that happiness in this life can be gaind by worshipping gods and defeating demons. As the Cārvākas were materialists, the reference to gods and demons does not fit so much with their philosophical perspective. In this paper, by taking into account several passages from Pāli and Sanskrit Buddhist sources, I have tried to demonstrate that Āryadevapāda is here probably following the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, where mention is made of some Lokāyatikas who are said to have been able to infatuate gods and demons. In both the Pāli Canon and the Mahāyāna sūtras, however, the term lokāyata does not refer to “materialism”. It rather conveys the meaning of “art of disputation”, and is generally used in the description of brāhmaṇas well versed in the Vedas, in the recitation of mantras and in dialectic methods in general. It is the Laṅkāvatārasūtra that introduces the idea – corroborated also by a passage from the Mahābhārata – that these brāhmaṇas, skilled in lokāyata, would have indulged in some materialistic tenet. When the two terms, Cārvāka and Lokāyata, came both to mean “materialism”, around the IV century CE, it is highly probable that non-Cārvāka thinkers and commentators – as could be the case of Āryadevapāda – had in some occasion assimilated and integrated certain points of view, originally beloging to the ancient lokāyata perspective (for instance, the references to gods and demons), into what they be-lieved Cārvāka philosophy had to be. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Cārvāka/Lokāyata Āryadevapāda Mahāyāna sūtras Pāli sources Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesKrishna Del Toso (2010). The Stanzas on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata in the Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi. Journal of Indian Philosophy 38 (6):543-552.
Krishna Del Toso (2010). Book Review: Ramkrishna Bhattacharya, Studies on the Carvaka/Lokayata, Società Editrice Fiorentina, Firenze 2009, € 28,00; Indian Edition: Manohar Publishers, New Delhi 2010, Rs. 750. [REVIEW] Psyche and Society 8 (2):81-84.
Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya & Mrinalkanti Gangopadhyaya (eds.) (1990). Cārvāka/Lokāyata: An Anthology of Source Materials and Some Recent Studies. Indian Council of Philosophical Research in Association with R̥ddhi-India, Calcutta.
Rāmakr̥shṇa Bhaṭṭācārya (2009). Studies on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata. Società Editrice Fiorentina.
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya (2012). Svabhāvavāda and the Cārvāka/Lokāyata: A Historical Overview. Journal of Indian Philosophy 40 (6):593-614.
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya (forthcoming). Commentators on the Cārvākasūtra: A Critical Survey. Journal of Indian Philosophy.
Krishna Del Toso (forthcoming). Tutto in Questa Vita: Considerazioni Sull’Etica E la Morale Dei Cārvāka/Lokāyata. In Krishna Del Toso & Pietro Piro (eds.), Perché guardare a Oriente? Prospettive, risorse e visioni di un mondo non più lontano. Tipheret Editore.
Krishna Del Toso (2011). Is Cognition an Attribute of the Self or It Rather Belongs to the Body? Some Dialectical Considerations on Udbhaṭabhaṭṭa’s Position Against Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika. Open Journal of Philosophy 1 (2):48-56.
Shubhada A. Joshi (1995). Lokāyata, a Critical Study: Indian Spiritualism Reaffirmed. Sri Satguru Publications.
Hara Prasad Shastri (1982). Lokayata and Vratya. Available with Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay.
Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (1968). Lōkayata. [New Delhi]People's Pub. House.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-04-11Total downloads25 ( #49,599 of 549,087 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,333 of 549,087 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
