AN ARGUMENTATIVE DISCUSSION TO RESOLVE DOUBT REGARDING THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF JAYANTA BHAṬṬA AND VĀCASPATI MIŚRA

Abstract

Determination of the ancient Indian philosophers’ time and chronology is a common problem to the Sanskrit scholars now a day. It is impossible to say in one sentence that this chronology of Indian philosophers should be acceptable due to so many anomalies regarding their information. Time and chronology of two such philosophers like Jayanta Bhaṭṭa and Vācaspati Miśra in Indian philosophy are also doubtful and can not be determined easily due to anomalies of their information scattered in Sanskrit literature. This study will investigate with proper information and arguments that what were their considerable time and chronological order. To discuss and resolve this doubtful matter I refer so many Sanskrit scholars like Dr. Vidyābhūṣaṇa, Gopīnātha Kavirāja, Pt. Ananta Lal Thakur and Suryanarayana Sukla and put information from various philosophical literatures like Nyāyamañjarī, Tātparyaṭīkā, Kādambarī-kathāsāra, Bhāmatī, Nyāyakaṇikā, Vivarana-Pañjikā. As per Philosophers and their statements with thorough argumentative discussion it may be resolved that Jayanta Bhaṭṭa was predecessor of Vācaspati Miśra. All the information collected from primary and secondary information must Jayanta Bhaṭṭa in 9^th Century A.D (883-904CE) and Vācaspati Miśra in 10^th Cencury A.D. The problem regarding the time and chronological order of Jayanta Bhaṭṭa and Vācaspati Miśra, which was mainly arisen centering a passage from Nyāyamañjarī be resolved from Aniruddha’s statement where Nyāyamañjarī is considered as Trilochana’s work, not of Jayanta Bhaṭṭa.