Comparative Study Of Utpadadisiddhitika And Hetubindutika

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This work, authored by Jaina Muni Jambuvijaya, highlights a significant aspect of ancient Indian philosophical and logical scholarship: the interrelationship and mutual borrowing between different schools of thought. Specifically, it points out that Jaina Ācāryas (learned scholars) frequently incorporated passages from Vaiseṣika, Nyāya, and especially Buddhist logical works into their own writings. This practice is crucial for understanding the nuances of various philosophical points and for reconstructing lost texts.

The author emphasizes the value of Jaina logical works for the study of Buddhist literature. Many original Sanskrit Buddhist texts are lost, but their meaning and content are preserved in Tibetan translations. While Chinese translations are generally more interpretative, Tibetan translations are often very close, sometimes word-for-word, to the originals. This makes them invaluable for scholars of Indian philosophy in general, as most Indian philosophical works are interconnected.

However, a significant challenge exists in understanding these Tibetan translations. Sanskrit is a richer language, and even with established translation rules, Tibetan scholars sometimes struggle to grasp the precise meaning of the original Sanskrit. Furthermore, errors can occur in Tibetan translations due to faulty original manuscripts or a lack of complete understanding by the translators. In such cases, referencing original Sanskrit works, even if they are later commentaries or related texts, can greatly aid in accurate interpretation and reconstruction.

The central aim of this study is to demonstrate this point by reconstructing a lost portion of the Hetubinduṭikā (a commentary on Dharmakirti's Hetubindu) with the help of the Jaina treatise Utpādādisiddhițikā and the Tibetan version of the Hetubinduṭikā.

The Hetubindu is a key work by the renowned Buddhist logician Dharmakirti, which is lost in its original Sanskrit. Two commentaries are known: one by Vinītadeva (also lost in Sanskrit) and a more extensive one by Arcața. The Hetubinduṭikā by Arcața was published from a single palm-leaf manuscript found in a Jaina collection.

The Utpādādisiddhi, a Jaina logical treatise by Candrasena, written around the 13th century of the Vikrama era, is significant because its extensive commentary contains numerous lengthy and short excerpts from Dharmakirti's Hetubindu and Arcața's commentary. These excerpts are crucial for reconstructing the lost Sanskrit portions of the Hetubinduṭikā and for correcting readings in its existing edition, which is based on a single manuscript.

The author then provides a concrete example of this reconstruction. A specific passage is identified as missing from the printed edition of the Hetubinduṭikā (HBT) due to a missing folio. By comparing the concluding part of the corresponding section in the Utpādādisiddhițikā (U) with the Tibetan translation of the Hetubinduṭikā (T) and the Tibetan translation of the commentary (HBTA), the author is able to restore the lost Sanskrit text. The excerpt from U and the Tibetan passages are presented, followed by the reconstructed Sanskrit text, illustrating how the Jaina work aids in filling the lacuna in the Buddhist text.

In essence, Muni Jambuvijaya's study underscores the interconnectedness of Indian philosophical traditions and demonstrates the practical value of comparative textual analysis for preserving and understanding lost or incomplete scholarly works, particularly in the field of Buddhist logic.