Dear Alex, Great find in Bhāskara’s Brahmasūtrabhāṣyam! This opens a definite possibility that Jayanta may have known Śaṅkara work secondhand, rather than directly. Unfortunately, I too haven’t seen any direct evidence that Jayanta knew Bhāskara’s work.
Best wishes, Elliot > On Aug 22, 2025, at 5:54 PM, Alex Watson via INDOLOGY > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear All > > One possible explanation of the sentence I cited earlier from the > Nyāyamañjarī (Mysore ed. p. 466.2-3): > nanu yady ekam eva brahma na dvitīyaṃ kiñcid asti, tarhi tad brahma > nityaśuddhabuddhasvabhāvatvāt muktam evāste. > > is that it is based on what Bhāskara says in a pūrvapakṣa (Brahmasūtrabhaṣyam > 2.3.48: 236.8-9): > paramātmanā ced abhinno jīvah, kasyānujñāparihārau syātām. na hi paramātmano > 'dhikāro 'sti, nityaśuddhabuddhamuktarūpatvāt. > > which was in turn based on Śaṅkara. Again, thanks to Elliot Stern for this > point. > > I don't know if there is any other evidence that Jayanta read Bhāskara. > > Yours > Alex > > On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 6:28 PM Uskokov, Aleksandar via INDOLOGY > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> Thank you, Matthew. >> >> Apropos your observation that you haven't encountered any classical Buddhist >> reference to Śaṅkara, and since we seem to be all sharing Bhāskara papers >> today, I attach Hajime Nakamura's "Bhāskara, the Vedāntin, in Buddhist >> Literature," who notes that Bhāskara seems to have been the representative >> Vedāntin for Buddhists. It would seem that for a good while Śaṅkara is >> deeply buried in the South and largely unknown outside Vedāntic circles even >> after the Bhāmatī. Which is why Alex's reference to the Nyāya-mañjarī is so >> exciting 🙂. >> >> Yours, >> Aleksandar >> >> Aleksandar Uskokov >> Senior Lector and Associate Research Scholar >> South Asian Studies Council & Department of Religious Studies, Yale >> University >> DUS, South Asian Studies >> The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra: An Introduction >> <https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Brahma-sutra-Introduction-Introductions-Philosophies/dp/1350150002/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=> >> >> Office Hours Sign-up: https://calendly.com/aleksandar-uskokov >> From: Matthew Kapstein <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> >> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2025 1:06 PM >> To: Uskokov, Aleksandar <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> >> Cc: Walter Slaje <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>; >> Indology List <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> >> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Mokṣopāya completed >> >> As I am now traveling, I do not have the materials with me to check exactly >> what's found in the Tarkajvālā, but in one of my articles that I was able to >> access, we have a paraphrase of the passage in a 12th c. Tibetan author: >> >> "[Vedānta] holds that all of these inner and outer entities are of the >> nature of a single great Self (mahātma ). The upper regions are its head, >> the lower regions its feet, the sky its back, the directions its hands, the >> planets and constellations its hair, the peaks its breast, the mountain >> ranges its bones, the rivers its network of veins, the forests its body >> hairs and nails; its back is the celes- tial world, its forehead Brahmā, >> Dharma and Adharma are its two brows; its wrathful grimace is Yama, the sun >> and moon its eyes, its inhalations and exhalations the winds..." >> >> It was the first sentence that I had in mind. Although clearly referring to >> a type of advaita doctrine, it does not mention saccidānanda, though perhaps >> the Tarkajvāla has more to say. >> >> The citation is from : 2009 “Preliminary remarks on the Grub mtha’ chen mo >> of Bya ’Chad kha ba Ye shes rdo rje,” in Sanskrit Manuscripts in China, ed. >> Ernst Steinkellner. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House, pp. 137-152. >> >> Matthew >> >> >> Matthew T. Kapstein >> Professor emeritus >> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris >> >> Associate >> The University of Chicago Divinity School >> >> Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences >> >> https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein >> >> https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/ >> >> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1 >> >> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1 >> >> https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949 >> >> Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email. >> >> On Friday, August 22nd, 2025 at 2:27 PM, Uskokov, Aleksandar >> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> Thank you, I was checking Qvarnstrom, will look in more detail. >>> >>> Aleksandar Uskokov >>> Senior Lector and Associate Research Scholar >>> South Asian Studies Council & Department of Religious Studies, Yale >>> University >>> DUS, South Asian Studies >>> The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra: An Introduction >>> <https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Brahma-sutra-Introduction-Introductions-Philosophies/dp/1350150002?_encoding=UTF8> >>> >>> Office Hours Sign-up: https://calendly.com/aleksandar-uskokov >>> From: Matthew Kapstein <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2025 8:23 AM >>> To: Uskokov, Aleksandar <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>> Cc: Walter Slaje <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>; >>> Indology List <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Mokṣopāya completed >>> >>> If I recall correctly, it is in the Tarkajvāla commentary, not the kārikā. >>> You can check O. Qvarnstrom’s translation. If not there, then my memory is >>> fooling me. >>> M >>> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 13:06, Uskokov, Aleksandar >>> <[email protected] >>> <mailto:On+Fri,+Aug+22,+2025+at+13:06,+Uskokov,+Aleksandar+%3C%3Ca+href=>> >>> wrote: >>>> >>>> Dear Matthew, >>>> >>>> I don't find it in the Vedānta chapter of the Madhyamaka-hṛdaya-kārikā. It >>>> would be quite important if it does appear anywhere before, say, the >>>> Tattva-saṅgraha, since the formula, not just the list of qualities—think >>>> of the difference between the qualities of Brahman listed in the >>>> Taittirīya vs. the sac-cid-ānanda formula—is one of the hallmarks of >>>> Śaṅkara's Vedānta that his followers customarily use to refer to the pure >>>> (rather than the causal) Brahman. >>>> >>>> Yours, >>>> Aleksandar >>>> >>>> Aleksandar Uskokov >>>> Senior Lector and Associate Research Scholar >>>> South Asian Studies Council & Department of Religious Studies, Yale >>>> University >>>> DUS, South Asian Studies >>>> The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra: An Introduction >>>> <https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Brahma-sutra-Introduction-Introductions-Philosophies/dp/1350150002?_encoding=UTF8> >>>> >>>> Office Hours Sign-up: https://calendly.com/aleksandar-uskokov >>>> From: INDOLOGY <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of Matthew >>>> Kapstein via INDOLOGY <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2025 5:32 AM >>>> To: Walter Slaje <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>> Cc: Indology List <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Mokṣopāya completed >>>> >>>> Dear all, >>>> >>>> If memory serves me well, the qualities of Brahman enumerated in the >>>> citation of Jayanta are given in pre-Śankara Buddhist authors, notably >>>> Bhāviveka, in doxographic treatments of Vedānta. >>>> >>>> And I know of no classical Indian Buddhist references to Śankara from any >>>> period at all. >>>> >>>> best, >>>> Matthew >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 08:56, Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY < >>>> [email protected] >>>> <mailto:On+Fri,+Aug+22,+2025+at+08:56,+Walter+Slaje+via+INDOLOGY+%3C%3Ca+href=>> >>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> [Attached is an article on the issue of Bhāskara's provenance: >>>>> Kato, Takahiro, A Note on the Kashmirian Recension of the Bhagavadgītā, >>>>> in: Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, 62.3, 2014, pp. 1144-1150. ] >>>>> >>>>> All the best, >>>>> WS >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Am Fr., 22. Aug. 2025 um 07:27 Uhr schrieb Walter Slaje < >>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>: >>>>> Dear Alex and John, >>>>> >>>>> > Food for thought >>>>> You said it! >>>>> >>>>> On the other hand, it is undoubtedly true that even if Śaṅkara's >>>>> teachings were known to a few authors in Kashmir at that time, he cannot >>>>> have played a significant role, since one has to search for him with a >>>>> magnifying glass in authentic Kashmiri texts, as can be seen from the two >>>>> important papers sent by John and Alex. Otherwise, the question of >>>>> Śaṅkara's intellectual presence in Kashmir would not have arisen. >>>>> Therefore, Śaṅkara was either barely known or more or less ignored. >>>>> >>>>> However, if we assume that Bhāskara (the author of the Śārīrakamīmāṃsā- >>>>> and Bhagavadgītābhāṣyas) actually came from Kashmir — for what other >>>>> reason would he have known and quoted the Bhagavadgītā almost exclusively >>>>> in its Kashmiri recension? — then this would suggest at least one >>>>> detailed critical engagement with Śaṅkara in Kashmir. (On a less serious >>>>> note, was he unable to recover from Bhāskara's final blow in Kashmir?) >>>>> >>>>> More food for thought? >>>>> >>>>> Yours, >>>>> Walter >>>>> >>>>> Am Fr., 22. Aug. 2025 um 00:39 Uhr schrieb Alex Watson >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>: >>>>> Dear All >>>>> >>>>> 1. I have written something about the kind of Vedānta known to >>>>> Sadyojyotis (675–725 CE) and Rāmakaṇṭha (950–1000 CE): see pp. 23–27 of >>>>> the attachment. >>>>> >>>>> 2. The footnote by Sanderson on this topic, cited many times since he >>>>> wrote it in the first half of the 1980s (e.g. in the article by Andrea >>>>> Acri shared by John Nemec) reads: >>>>> “When Vedānta is expounded by its opponents in Kashmirian sources of our >>>>> period it is the doctrine of Maṇḍanamiśra which is generally in mind >>>>> [...]. To my knowledge no source betrays familiarity with the doctrines >>>>> of Śaṅkara.” >>>>> To support the contention that Kashmirian sources draw on Maṇḍanamiśra >>>>> rather than Śaṅkara to compose their Vedānta-pūrvapakṣas, he lists >>>>> passages in the Paramokṣanirāsakārikā, the Nyāyamañjarī and the >>>>> Tantrālokaviveka. The inclusion there of Jayaratha's Tantrālokaviveka >>>>> implies that at the time of writing the footnote he had found no trace of >>>>> Śaṅkara in that text. But if my memory serves me correctly, he did >>>>> subsequently find it in that text of Jayaratha. That would date the >>>>> earliest definite knowledge of Śaṅkara in Kashmir to the beginning of the >>>>> 13th century. >>>>> >>>>> 3. Elliot Stern once sent me the following possible piece of evidence >>>>> for familiarity with Śaṅkara in Jayanta's Nyāyamañjarī (c. 890 CE): >>>>> >>>>> Nyāyamañjarī (Mysore ed. p. 466.2-3): >>>>> nanu yady ekam eva brahma na dvitīyaṃ kiñcid asti, tarhi tad brahma >>>>> nityaśuddhabuddhasvabhāvatvāt muktam evāste. >>>>> >>>>> Śaṅkara’s Brahmasūtrabhāṣyam (NSP 1938 edition, 2.3.40: p. 616.7): >>>>> api ca nityaśuddhabuddhamuktātmaprati pādanān mokṣasiddhir abhimatā. >>>>> >>>>> (1.1.4: p. 113.1): nityaśuddhabuddhamuktasvabhāva ḥ >>>>> >>>>> Śaṅkara uses nityaśuddhabuddhamukta and similar expressions several times >>>>> in this work. Nothing like it appears in Brahmasiddhiḥ or Gaudapāda’s >>>>> kārikāḥ. >>>>> >>>>> This is of course not conclusive, for Jayanta could be drawing on a third >>>>> source. >>>>> >>>>> Yours, >>>>> Alex >>>>> -- >>>>> Alex Watson >>>>> Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Indian Philosophy >>>>> Professor of Indian Philosophy, Ashoka University >>>>> https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Aug 21, 2025 at 7:20 PM Nemec, John William (jwn3y) via INDOLOGY >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>> Dear Harry, Walter, and All, >>>>> >>>>> Andrea Acri has written about this, and I have downloaded the relevant >>>>> article from his academia.edu <http://academia.edu/> page and attach it >>>>> here. >>>>> >>>>> See p. 578 environ, and Andrea may be right that I (and several others) >>>>> might be wrong about whether Śaṅkara was known in the Valley around this >>>>> time. >>>>> >>>>> Food for thought. >>>>> >>>>> As Ever, >>>>> John >>>>> >>>>> ______________________________ _____________ >>>>> John Nemec, Ph.D. >>>>> Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies >>>>> Department of Religious Studies >>>>> 323 Gibson Hall, 1540 Jefferson Park Avenue >>>>> University of Virginia >>>>> Charlottesville, VA 22904 >>>>> +1 (434) 924-6716 >>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> https://virginia.academia.edu/JNemec >>>>> >>>>> Take a look at my new book: >>>>> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/brahmins-and-kings-9780197791998?cc=us&lang=en&; >>>>> From: INDOLOGY <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of Walter Slaje >>>>> via INDOLOGY <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 1:12 PM >>>>> To: Harry Spier <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> Cc: Indology <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Mokṣopāya completed >>>>> >>>>> Dear Harry, >>>>> >>>>> > Was the existence of Śaṅkarācārya and/or his writings known in 10th >>>>> > century Kashmir? >>>>> To my knowledge, Śaṅkara played no role in Kashmir at that time. >>>>> Maṇḍanamiśra was seen as the representative of Advaita Vedānta. >>>>> Significantly, the Mokṣopāya addresses and quotes Maṇḍana's theory of >>>>> error (khyāti [Vibhramaviveka]) in Mokṣopāya VI.325.1–10 (the current >>>>> volume), adopting "Vasiṣṭha's" inclusivistic approach by redefining the >>>>> ātmakhyāti of the Yogācāra school in his own terms. As so often, he tells >>>>> a parable to illustrate his point (śilopākhyāna, VI.32511–40). >>>>> >>>>> Regards, >>>>> Walter >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Am Do., 21. Aug. 2025 um 15:59 Uhr schrieb Harry Spier >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>: >>>>> Dear Walter, >>>>> >>>>> My congratulations also on this impressive accomplishment. >>>>> >>>>> You wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Contrary to a still-prevailing misconception, the 10th-century Mokṣopāya >>>>> from Kashmir has nothing at all to do with Śaṅkara's Advaitavedānta . . . >>>>> >>>>> Was the existence of Śaṅkarācārya and/or his writings known in 10th >>>>> century Kashmir? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> Harry Spier >>>>> >>>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>>> INDOLOGY mailing list >>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> <https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson> >>>>> >>>>> Confidentiality Notice: This email and any attachments may contain >>>>> confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended >>>>> recipient, please notify the sender by replying to this message, and then >>>>> delete the email and any attachments permanently. Thank you. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> INDOLOGY mailing list >> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > > > -- > Alex Watson > Professor of Indian Philosophy, Ashoka University > https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson > <https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson> > > Confidentiality Notice: This email and any attachments may contain > confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended > recipient, please notify the sender by replying to this message, and then > delete the email and any attachments permanently. Thank you. > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology Elliot M. 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