Abstract
Vaiśeşikas are realist philosophers of classical India. They admit time (kāla) as a ubiquitous real substance. In this paper, our aim is to discuss such a determination of time following sixth century Vaiśeşika scholar Praśastapāda and a few of his interpreters, Vyomaśivācārya and Udayanācārya. This paper is an effort to state realist philosophers’ understanding of time and also to highlight how in classical Indian tradition, interpretations paved the way for proving the reality of time. The application of logical methods by the Vaiśeşika interpreters is also worth studying. These methods show the internal development occurring in the system of Vaiśeşika. Praśastapāda stated different notions like priority etc. (paratvādi) as the linga or hetu of kāla. Vyomaśiva and Udayana have established this statement of Praśastapāda as the lakşaņa of kāla by virtue of different forms of inference.
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Notes
Frauwallner gave Praśastapāda’s date as the first half of the sixth century, because according to him Praśastapāda lived after Dingnāga. But others admit the pre-Dingnāga date of Praśastapāda.
Kālahparāparavyātikarayaugapadyāyaugapadyacirakṣaprapratyaya lingam. (Praśastapādabhāṣya 1984, 42).
…Kālah, itarasmādvidyate, parāparavyātikarayougapadyāyaugapadyacirakṣprapratyayalingatvāt,…Vyomavatī, p. 120.
… Bahutaratapanaparispandāntaritajanmani hi sthavireYuvānāmavadhimkŗtvaparatvamutpadyamānāsamavāyīkāraņavatkāryatvād…, Ibid.
… rupādināmcavyābhicāretapanaparispandānāmcavaiādhikaraṇyetadavacchinnadravyasamyogosamavāyīkāraņamiti …, ibid.
Pindasamyuktve sati suryasamyuktamyaddravyamtadguṇosamavāyikāraņam, Kiraņāvaliprakāśa, p. 349.
Na cavibhūnodravyasyasamjogatathābhavitumarhativyābhicarāditi tat dravyamvibhūsyāt. Kiraņāvalī, p. 349–350.
Na cātmākāśautathābhavitumarhatah, vśeşaguņavatvātprithivyādivadityācāryah. ibid.
ĀcāryahVyomaśivācāryah, Kiraṇāvalīprakāśa, p.350.
Alpatarasurasancarādiapekṣayābahutaratapanaparispandāntaritatvancaviprakarṣah, Kiraṇāvali, p. 351.
Na caeṣasthavirasarirasyasvarupatahsidhyatititapanasamavetenakarmaṇasyasambandhatvabhāvāt, ibid.
Yaddvarenasamjuktasamjuktasamavāyalakṣaṇayapratyāsattyādityagatihsthavirapindāmupavartatetaddravyamasti, ibid.
Na cātmākāśautathābhavitumarhataviśeṣaguṇavattvātprithivyādivaditiācārya, ibid.
Tathātvevāekatarabheryāmabhihatāyāmsarvabheriṣuśabdotpattiprasamgātsuryakriyāvadbherisamyogasyapisamjuktasamjuktasamavāyaviśeṣāt, Kiraņāvalī, p. 352.
Ātmāneopidravyāntarasthiteṣudharmeṣudravyāntaravyāvacchedayapratyāsatyātiriktasannikarṣapekṣatvāt.anyathāVārānasisthenanīlenaPātaliputrasthasyasphatikamaṇeruparanjanaprasangāt, ibid.
References
Kiraņāvalī by Udayana. With the commentary (Prakāśa of Vardhamāna Upādhyaya and Kiraņāvalīprakāśa-vivŗti of Rucidatta.) vol. 2, With Vādindra’s commentary on the Dravya section. In: N.C. Vedantatirtha (eds) 1956. Reprinted-2002, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata
Praśastapādabhāşya (1984) With Nyāyakandalī by Śridhara. (ed), Vindhesvari Prasad Dvivedin, 2nd edition, Sri Satguru Publication, New Delhi
Vyomavati by Vyomaśivācārya. Shastri, Gaurinath (eds), Vol. 2, Sampurnanada Sanskrit University, Varanasi, 1983–84
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Datta, M. Time and Some Temporal Notions: A Vaiśeşika Analysis. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 39, 25–32 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-021-00266-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-021-00266-2