Study Texts and Study Rewards

Tarka-sangraha

The most fundamental and profound introductory Sanskrit text to enter into the system of Nyaya– Vaisesika (Indian logic and epistemology) is Tarkasangraha of Annambhatta. In traditional education as well as in modern university education this text is prescribed for all branches of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. The study of this text provides good training in analyzing human thoughts. Once one captures the methods of cognitive analysis as presented in this system, he or she can handle any discipline of thought with much ease. It is a wonderful tool to study any system of Indian Philosophy. Computer scientists too can derive a lot of insights from the methodology developed by the Nyaya-Vaisesika System of Indian logic and epistemology.

Mimamsa-paribhasha

The system of Purvamimamsa (Indian Hermeneutics) of Jaimini is one the six systems of Indian Philosophy. It is an Indian science of sentence interpretation. It is another vital tool for understanding any text at the level of discourse. Almost all thinkers and philosophers, including Sankaracharya, in ancient and mediaeval India used the Purvamimamsa principles of textual interpretation for interpreting a text. It has the potentiality of applicability even in the area of machine translation, text-summarization and so on in Computer Science. This text is a fundamental introductory text of this Purvamimamsa system of Indian Philosophy.

Vedanta-paribhasha

Vedantaparibhasa of Dharmaraja is a very important text and its impotence lies in the analysis of Advaita epistemology. In Indian Philosophy, it is usually said that the ascertainment of the reality to be known is dependent on the way it is known ( mana-adhina meya-siddhih) and Vedanta-paribhasha is a rare text which deals with the pramana (means of knowledge) in Advaita Vedanta. The Advaitins accept six pramanas and this text gives a brilliant exposition of all the pramanas which are accepted by Advaitins. The study of Vedantaparibhasha will impart an in-depth knowledge of Advaita epistemology

Bhamati of Vacaspati Mishra

Brahma-sutra-bhashya is one of the major texts in the Vedanta tradition and among the triple canons of Vedanta, it is the Tarka-prasthana in the Prasthanatrayi tradition. On Adi Sankara’s bhashya or commentary on the Brahma-sutras, there are two sub-commentaries which became well known in post-Sankara period, 1. Bhamati and the other, 2. Vivarana. Vacaspati is the author of Bhamati-tika of Sutra-bhashya of Sankara, and Prakasatman was the author of the Vivarana-tika and these two account for prasthana-dvaya (two schools) in Advaita tradition. For the work-shop, we shall deal with the first four Brahma-sutras with the Bhamati commentary.

Vedanta-sangraha of Ramaraya Kavi

This is a Advaita work written by a recent author who is known for his dialectical skill and profound methodology of presentation. The text of Vedantasangraha is an analysis of entire philosophy of Advaita which includes epistemology, metaphysics and ethics. Written in the style of Tarka-sangraha of Annambhatta, the text explores the Vedantic tenets in a very methodical manner.

 Faculty

      1. Prof. R. Balasubramanian, Former Chairman, Indian Council of Philosophical Research,            New Delhi

      2. Prof. V.N. Jha, Former Director, Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune

      3. Prof. Ujjwala Jha, Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune.

      4. Prof. G. Mishra, Member Secretary, Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi

      5. Dr. Goda Venkateswara Sastri, Traditional Scholar, Chennai.

Participant Profile

The participants would be teachers in the Academic Institutions in the disciplines of Sanskrit, Philosophy, Indian culture and such related subjects, UGC and ICPR researchers, PG Students, Acharyas and Monks, Sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) and also interested public.