Volume-II, Issue-III, January 2026
Volume-II, Issue-III, January, 2026 |
Received: 09.01.2026 | Accepted: 26.01.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.01.2026 | Page No: 577-584 | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.03W.247 | |||
সাক্ষীপ্রতীতি দ্বারা অজ্ঞানের সিদ্ধি: মাধ্ব এবং অদ্বৈতমত বিচার রাহুল ভৌমিক, গবেষক, দর্শন বিভাগ, যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Establishing Ignorance through Witness-Cognition (Sākṣī-pratīti): A Comparative Study of the Madhva and Advaita Schools Rahul Bhowmick, Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
One of the most significant and extraordinary subjects of discussion in Advaita Vedanta is Ajñāna. In the Advaita school, ‘Ajñāna’ is acknowledged as a distinct fundamental category or Prasthāna. Since Ajñāna is defined as Sadasadbhyāmabilakṣaṇa, an apprehension may arise that it is impossible to define its Lakṣaṇa. In response, the Advaitins state that the cessation of ignorance occurs when the knowledge of the identity between the Jība and Brahman is attained. Therefore, Jñānanibartyatba is the defining characteristic of Ajñāna. Even if the characteristic of Ajñāna is defined in this manner, an objection arises: since Brahman is the only Pramēẏa in Advaita school and Ajñāna is Apramēẏa, so no proof can be presented regarding Ajñāna. And if no proof can be provided, Ajñāna cannot be accepted as a distinct category. For the scriptures state—“Lakṣaṇa-Pramāṇabhyāṁ-hi-Bastusid'dhiḥ”. In reply to this objection, the Advaitins argue that although Ajñāna is not established through conventional means of proof, it is not entirely unproven; this is because Ajñāna is established through Sākṣī Pratīti. However, Mādhabācārya Byāsatīrtha, in his work N'yāẏāmr̥ta, presents various objections against the Advaita position of the Sākṣībēdyatba of Ajñāna and attempts to refute it. In this essay, I shall discuss the nature of the Sākṣī according to Advaitins and, by refuting all the objections raised by Mādhabācārya, explore how the Advaitins specially Madhusūdana Sarasbatī establish the Sākṣībēdyatba of Ajñāna. | ||
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