Jayanta Bhatta ( CE – CE) was a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

poet, teacher, logician, and an advisor to King

Sankaravarman Sankaravarman was an Chamar king of the Utpala dynasty Utpala dynasty was a Kashmiri dynasty which ruled over the Kashmir region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent from 8th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was established by Avan ...

. He was a philosopher of the

Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...

. He authored three works on

Nyāya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Pāṇinian grammar.

Early life

Jayanta was born into a wealthy Brahmin family. He was a

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

, composing a commentary to Panini’s '' Ashtadhyayi'' and earned the name Nava-Vrittikara, or new commentator. Later in life, he mastered various ''

shastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...

'' and '' agama'', distinguished himself in scholarly debates, and passed his knowledge on to his students. Jayanta's birth year, lifespan, dates of his written works are a subject of scholarly debates. His philosophical work ''Nyāyamañjarī'' as well as his drama '' Āgamaḍambara'', refer to King

(883 – 902 CE) as a contemporary. ''Kādambarikathāsāra'', a work written by Jayanta's son Abhinanda, mentions that Jayanta's great grandfather was a minister of king

Lalitaditya Muktapida Lalitaditya alias Muktapida (IAST: Lalitāditya Muktāpīḍa; r. c. 724 CE–760 CE) was a powerful ruler of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. The 12th-century chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as a ...

, who was a ruler of the Karkota dynasty in the second quarter of the 8th century CE. Several attempts to specify his life span are based on references to his work by other authors and references to contemporary events and individuals in his work. They range from the middle of the 8th century CE to the start of the 10th century CE. However, most reliable estimates place him around the 9th century CE.

Lineage

''Kādambarikathāsāra'' provides some information about Jayanta's lineage. It says his ancestor Shakti was a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

and a direct

patriline Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

descendant of

Bharadwaja Bharadvaja ( sa, भरद्वाज, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great ...

gotra from the Gauda region, who lived in Darvabhisara, near the border of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. His son was named Mitra, and his grandson was Saktisvämin (Shaktisvamin). Saktisvämin, the great grandfather of Jayanta, was a minister of Kashmir

of the Karkota dynasty ( – 761 CE). Jayanta mentions in ''Nyayamanjari'' that his grandfather obtained a village named Gauramulaka, believed to have been located north of the modern town of

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on th ...

, from King Muktapida. Saktisvämin had a son named Chandra, Jayanta's father.

Career

The '' Agamadambara'' provides details about Bhatta's political career. He was an adviser to Kashmiri king

. In his position, he played a role in banishing the Nilambara (Black-Blankets) sect from Kashmir. Commenting on Tantric literature, he argued that the Nilambara sect promoted "immoral teachings". Jayanta claimed the Nilambara "wear simply one blue garment, and then as a group engages in unconstrained public sex". He argued that this practice was "unnecessary" and threatened the fundamental values of society.

Works

Philosophical works

Jayanta wrote three known treatises on

Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Mīmānsādarśana. His second, the ''Nyayakalika'' (A Bud of the Nyaya tree) is an overview of the basic tenets of the

Nyāya Sūtras The ''Nyāya Sūtras'' is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text composed by , and the foundational text of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy. The date when the text was composed, and the biography of its author is unknown, but variously esti ...

, a foundational text of the Nyaya school. His third work, ''Pallava'' (probably ''Nyayapallava'', A Twig of the Nyaya tree) though quoted in ''Syadvadaratnakara'', has not survived. Jayanta mentions in ''Nyayamanjari'' that he wrote this treatise during his confinement in a forest by the king. This treatise is unique because it is an independent work, not a commentary of an earlier work. Secondly, according to Jayanta, the purpose of Nyaya is to protect the authority of the ''

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

'', Hinduism's oldest scriptures, whereas earlier Nyaya scholars considered Nyaya to be an '' Anvikshiki'' (scientific study) providing true knowledge about the real nature of the objects of cognition.

Literary works

His major literary work is ', a Sanskrit play in four acts. The hero of his quasi-philosophical drama is a young graduate of the Mimansa school, who wants to defeat all opponents of Vedas through reasoning.

Philosophy

God

The discussion of God's Existence is found in part 1 of ''Nyaya Manjuri''. Jayanta adheres to a realist viewpoint of God and the world and defends the possibility of reasoned arguments favoring God as a realistic and adequate cause of the world.

Criticism of Lokayats

Jayanta Bhatta criticized the

Lokayata Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embrace ...

school of philosophy for not developing a Lokayata culture. He said, "The Lokayata is not an Agama. viz. not a guide to cultural living, not a system of do's and don’ts; hence it is nothing but irresponsible wrangling."

English translations

The

Clay Sanskrit Library The Clay Sanskrit Library is a series of books published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Each work features the text in its original language (transliterated Sanskrit) on the left-hand page, with its English translation on the ...

published a translation of ' by Csaba Dezső under the title of ''Much Ado about Religion''.