Devendrabuddhii

Here is a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, focusing on the content related to Devendrabuddhi:

The text discusses Devendrabuddhi, identified as a personal student of the renowned Buddhist logician Dharmakīrti. Devendrabuddhi is known for his commentary on Chapters 2 and subsequent chapters of Dharmakīrti's Pramāņavārttikam. His own work, titled Pramāņavārttikavrttiḥ, is presented as a continuation of Dharmakīrti's commentary on the first chapter of the same work.

The text recounts a tradition from Bu-ston and Tāranātha concerning the creation of Devendrabuddhi's commentary. According to this tradition, Dharmakīrti tasked Devendrabuddhi with composing a commentary based on his teachings. Devendrabuddhi completed the work, but Dharmakīrti initially rejected it, first by washing it away with water and then by burning it in fire. Undeterred, Devendrabuddhi rewrote it a third time, presenting it to Dharmakīrti with the explanation that he had written it in a concise form due to human limitations and the transient nature of time. Dharmakīrti then accepted this version, stating that while the deeper, implied meaning was not fully expressed, the directly spoken meaning was conveyed.

The author, Erich Frauwallner, notes that whether this story is historically accurate or not, it accurately reflects the nature of Devendrabuddhi's work. His commentary explains the literal wording of Dharmakīrti's verses but does not go beyond what is immediately stated in the words. This is in stark contrast to Dharmakīrti's own commentary on the first chapter, which delves deeper.

Despite this difference, Devendrabuddhi's work is considered highly valuable. Because Pramāņavārttikam is a difficult text with potential for various interpretations, and Devendrabuddhi's commentary is the earliest among all commentaries, his explanations are seen as authentic to Dharmakīrti's intended meaning, given his status as a direct disciple.

Unfortunately, Devendrabuddhi's commentary is not preserved in its original Sanskrit. Only a few leaves have been discovered, and citations in opposing works are rare. Therefore, scholars are currently reliant on the Tibetan translation, which is described as imperfect.

However, the author highlights an unexpected source of help: the marginal notes in a manuscript of Manorathanandin's commentary on Pramāņavārttikam. These marginal notes, which are reproduced as footnotes in the edition by Rāhula Sānkrityāyana, contain numerous sentences that exactly match sentences from Devendrabuddhi's Vṛttiḥ. The author provides several examples to demonstrate this overlap, showing how Devendrabuddhi's commentary is present, albeit fragmented, within these notes.

The author concludes that these findings confirm that Vibhūticandra, the scribe of the Manorathanandin manuscript, included sentences from Devendrabuddhi's commentary in the margins. He expresses hope that Devendrabuddhi's work will eventually find a dedicated editor, who will find valuable material in these annotations to Manorathanandin's commentary.