Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: वैशेषिक सूत्र), also called ''Kanada sutra'', is an ancient
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
text at the foundation of the
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika ( sa, वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemolog ...
school of
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 ...
. The
sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
was authored by the Hindu sage
Kanada Kanada may refer to:
*Kanada (philosopher), the Hindu sage who founded the philosophy of Vaisheshika
*Kanada (family of ragas), a group of ragas in Hindustani music
*Kanada (surname)
*Kanada Station, train station in Fukuoka, Japan
*Kannada, one of ...
, also known as Kashyapa. According to some scholars, he flourished before the advent of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
because the ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' makes no mention of Buddhism or Buddhist doctrines; however, the details of Kanada's life are uncertain, and the ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' was likely compiled sometime between 6th and 2nd century BCE, and finalized in the currently existing version before the start of the common era.
A number of scholars have commented on it since the beginning of common era; the earliest commentary known is the ''Padartha Dharma Sangraha'' of
Prashastapada
( sa, प्रशस्तपाद) was an ancient Indian philosopher. He wrote the ''Padārtha-dharma-saṅgraha'' (Collection of Properties of Matter) and a commentary, titled ''Praśastapāda Bhāṣya'', on the Vaisheshika Sutras of Kanada ...
. Another important secondary work on ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' is Maticandra's ''Dasha padartha sastra'' which exists both in Sanskrit and its Chinese translation in 648 CE by Yuanzhuang.
The ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' is written in aphoristic sutras style, and presents its theories on the creation and existence of the universe using naturalistic
atomism
Atomism (from Greek , ''atomon'', i.e. "uncuttable, indivisible") is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms.
References to the concept of atomism and its atoms ...
, applying logic and realism, and is one of the earliest known systematic realist
ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
in human history. The text discusses motions of different kind and laws that govern it, the meaning of
dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, a theory of
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
, the basis of
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to:
Film
* ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto
* ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
People
* Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
(self, soul), and the nature of
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
. The explicit mention of motion as the cause of all phenomena in the world and several propositions about it make it one of the earliest texts on physics.
Etymology
The name ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: वैशेषिक सूत्र) is derived from ''viśeṣa'', विशेष, which means "particularity", that is to be contrasted from "universality". The classes particularity and universality belong to different categories of experience.
Manuscripts
Till the 1950s, only one manuscript of ''Vaiseshika sutra'' was known and this manuscript was part of a
bhasya Bhashya () is a "commentary" or "exposition" of any primary or secondary text in ancient or medieval Indian literature. Common in Sanskrit literature, ''Bhashya'' is also found in other Indian languages. Bhashya are found in various fields, ranging ...
by the 15th century Sankaramisra. Scholars had doubted its authenticity, given the inconsistencies in this manuscript and the quotes in other Hindu, Jaina and Buddhist literature claiming to be from the ''Vaisheshika Sutra''. In the 1950s and early 1960s, new manuscripts of ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' were discovered in distant parts of India, which were later identified as this Sutra. These newer manuscripts are quite different, more consistent with the historical literature, and suggests that, like other major texts and scriptures of Hinduism, ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' too suffered interpolations, errors in transmission and distortion over time. A critical edition of the ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' is now available.
Date
The ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' mention the doctrines of competing schools of Indian philosophy such as Samkhya and Mimamsa, but make no mention of Buddhism, which has led scholars in more recent publications to posit estimates of 6th to 2nd century BCE.
The
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
studies of ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' manuscripts discovered after 1950, suggest that the text attributed to Kanada existed in a finalized form sometime between 200 BCE and the start of the common era, with the possibility that its key doctrines are much older. Multiple Hindu texts dated to the 1st and 2nd century CE, such as the ''Mahavibhasa'' and ''Jnanaprasthana'' from the
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, quote and comment on Kanada's doctrines. Although the ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' makes no mention of the doctrines of
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, their ancient texts mention ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' doctrines and use its terminology, particularly Buddhism's Sarvastivada tradition, as well as the works of
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
.
Physics and philosophy
Physics is central to Kaṇāda's assertion that all that is knowable is based on motion. His ascribing centrality to physics in the understanding of the universe also follows from his invariance principles. For example, he says that the atom must be spherical since it should be the same in all dimensions. He asserts that all substances are composed of atoms, two of which have mass and two are massless.
The philosophy in ''Vaiseshika sutra'' is atomistic pluralism, states Jayatilleke. Its ideas are known for its contributions to "inductive inference", and often coupled with the "deductive logic" of the sister school of Hinduism called the
Nyaya
(Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment", James Thrower and others call Vaiśeṣika philosophy to be naturalism, one that rejects the supernatural.
The text states:The ''Vaisheshika sutras'' of Kanada 2nd Edition, Translator: Nandalal Sinha (1923); Editor: BD Basu; Note: this is the translation of non-critical edition of the manuscript
* There are nine constituents of realities: four classes of
atoms
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, an ...
(earth, water, light and air), space (
akasha
Akasha or Akash (Sanskrit ' ) means space or sky or æther in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern Indo-Aryan la ...
), time (
kāla
Kala ( sa, काल, lit=Time, translit=Kālá/Kālam), ) is a Sanskrit term that means "time" or "death." As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala ...
), direction (disha), infinity of souls (
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to:
Film
* ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto
* ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
People
* Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
), mind ( manas).
* Every object of creation is made of atoms (parmanu) which in turn connect with each other to form molecules (anu). Atoms are eternal, and their combinations constitute the empirical material world.
* Individual souls are eternal and pervade material body for a time.
* There are six categories (
padārtha Padārtha is a Sanskrit word for "categories" in Vaisheshika and Nyaya schools of Indian philosophy.dravya
Dravya ( sa, द्रव्य) means substance or entity. According to the Jain philosophy, the universe is made up of six eternal substances: sentient beings or souls ('' jīva''), non-sentient substance or matter (''pudgala''), principle of ...
) are given as color, taste, smell, touch, number, size, the separate, coupling and uncoupling, priority and posterity, comprehension, pleasure and pain, attraction and revulsion, and wishes. Like many foundational texts of classical schools of Hindu philosophy, God is not mentioned in the sutra, and the text is non-theistic.
Content
The critical edition of the ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' are divided into ten chapters, each subdivided into two sections called āhnikas:
* In the first chapter, Kanada opens his Sutra with definitions of
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, the importance 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 ...
and his goals. The text, states Matilal, then defines and describes three categories and their causal aspects: substance, quality and action. He explains their differences, similarities and relationships between these three. The second part of first chapter defines and explains a universal, a particular (''viśeṣa'',) and their hierarchical relationship. Kanada states that it is from combination of particulars that some universals emerge.
* The second chapter of the ''Vaisheshika Sutras'' presents five substances (earth, air, water, fire, space) each with a distinct quality. Kanada argues that all except "air and space" is verifiable by perception, while existence of invisible air is established by inference (air blows, and that there must be a substance that affects the touch sensation to the skin; space, he argues, is inferred from one's ability to move from one point to another unhindered - a point he revises in later part of the text by asserting that sound is perceived and proves space).
* In the third chapter, Kanada states his premises about
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to:
Film
* ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto
* ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
People
* Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
(self, soul) and its validity.
* In the fourth chapter discusses the body and its adjuncts.
* In the fifth chapter action connected with the body and action connected with the mind are investigated. The text defines and discusses
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
, asserting that self-knowledge (''atma-saksatkara'') is the means to spiritual liberation. In this chapter, Kanada mentions various natural phenomena such as the falling of objects to ground, rising of fire upwards, the growth of grass upwards, the nature of rainfall and thunderstorms, the flow of liquids, the movement towards a magnet among many others; he then attempts to integrate his observations with his theories, and classifies phenomenon into two: those caused by volition, and those caused by subject-object conjunctions.
* In the sixth chapter puṇya (virtue) and pāpa (sin) are examined both as moral precepts and as discussed in the Vedas and Upanishads.
* In the seventh chapter discusses qualities such as color and taste as a function of heat, time, object and subject. Kanada dedicates a significant number of Sutras to his theory and importance of measurement.
* In the eighth chapter, Kanada dwells on nature of cognition and reality, arguing that cognition is a function of the object (substance) and subject. Some sutras are unclear, such as one on
Artha
''Artha'' (; sa, अर्थ; Tamil: ''poruḷ'' / ''பொருள்'') is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 55–56 T ...
, which Kanada states is applicable only to "substance, quality and action" per his chapter one.
* In the ninth chapter, Kanada discusses
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
, particularly the nature of perception, inference and human reasoning process.
* In the final tenth chapter, the text focuses on soul, it attributes and threefold causes. Kanada asserts that human happiness and suffering is linked to ignorance, confusion and knowledge of the soul. He develops his theories of efficient cause, karma, body, mind, cognition and memory to present his thesis. He mentions meditation as a means of soul knowledge.John Wells (2009) The Vaisheshika Darshana Darshana Press, pages 32-34
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*Subhash Kak (2016), Matter and Mind: The Vaiśeṣika Sūtra of Kaṇāda
*
*
*
*O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism (Textual Sources for the Study of Religion). .