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 <<a 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]>: > >> 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]>: >> >>> 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]> wrote: >>> >>>> Dear Harry, Walter, and All, >>>> >>>> Andrea Acri has written about this, and I have downloaded the relevant >>>> article from his 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] >>>> 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]> on behalf of Walter >>>> Slaje via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> >>>> Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 1:12 PM >>>> To: Harry Spier <[email protected]> >>>> Cc: Indology <[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]>: >>>> >>>>> 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] >>>> 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.
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