The Epistemology of Dvaita Vedanta

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The conception of moksa, which is the basic , dominant and practical motive of Indian philosophy, has at times overshadowed the logical subtlety, depth and skill, the power of analysis, the force of argument, the dialectical acumen and the play of reason in the Indian philosophical systems. This has led to the criticism that Indian philosophy and particularly the Vedanta, is a combination of religious faith and reason, being based primarily on the authority of the veda-s, but in all the schools of Vedanta there are tracts devoted to the treatment of logical problems and no school accepts any of its doctrine without the appropriate logical bases.

The logic and the theory of knowledge of Indian systems of philosophy are largely coloured by their metaphysical tenets. There is no logic in the Indian philosophical systems which is not coloured by their metaphysical doctrines. The epistemology of a system is to a great extent dependent on its ontology. Sri Madhva's logic is closely related to his theory of metaphysics and his theology.

Dr. S.K. Mitra of Calcutta University has translated an elementary treatise on Madhva's logic, the Pramanacandrika. Dr. R. Nagaraja Sarma has written a running commentary in English on Madhva's Pramana-Laksana in his doctoral thesis The Reign o Realism in Indian Philosophy. The present work,based on the Pramanapaddhati of Jayatirtha, is a brief account of the Dvaita theory of Knowledge. In the exposition of the theme the comparative method is not adopted in full but I have freely drawn from the other works of Jayatirtha which are commentaries on Madhva's Works. In dealing with the logical categories of Madhva, I have compared them with those of the other systems of Indian philosophy.

My main inspiration for the study of Madhva's philosophy was the late Sri Satyadhyana Tirtha of Uttaradi Mutt.

My grateful thanks are due to Pandits Yellatur Narasimhachar and Kowligi Yadunathachar who have helped me in the preparation of the Work; to the late S.S. Suryanarayana Sastri who taught me the metaphysical and logical approach to Vedanta; to the late Professor Hiriyanna whose suggestions helped me in revising the work; to Dr. V. Raghavan for reading the proofs and making a valuable suggestions; and to Dr. K. Kunjunni Raja for going through the work, I am also thankful to The Adyar Library for under-taking to publish it.

Karnatak College
Dharwar

P. Nagaraja Rao

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