Udayana | |
|---|---|
 Udayanacharya Statue at Udayanacharya Mandir in Kariyan village of Samastipur district in the Mithila region of Bihar | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 975 A.D. |
| Died | 1050 A.D. |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Creed | Nyaya School of Indian Philosophy |
| Main interest(s) | Nyaya Shastra |
| Notable idea(s) | Existence of God by Logic |
| Notable work(s) | Nyayakusumanjali |
| Occupation | Philosopher and Teacher |
Udayana, (Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE[2]) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theology to prove the existence of God using logic and counter the attack on the existence of God at the hands of Buddhist philosophers such as Dharmakīrti, Jñānaśrī and against the Indian school of materialism (Chārvaka).[3][4] He is considered to be the most important philosopher of the Nyāya tradition.[5]
He worked to reconcile the views held by the two major schools of logic (Nyaya and Vaisheshika). This became the root of the Navya-Nyāya ("New Nyāya") school of the thirteenth century, established by the Gangesha Upadhyaya school of "right" reasoning, which is still recognized and followed in some regions of India today. He lived in Kariyan village in Mithila, near present-day Darbhanga, Bihar state, India.
Udayana wrote a sub-gloss on Vachaspati Misra's work called the Nyaya-vaartika-taatparya-tiikaa-parishuddhi.[6] He wrote several other works such as the Kusumanjali, Atma-tattva-viveka, Kiranaavali and Nyaya-parishishhta (also called Bodha siddhi or Bodha shuddhi).
He is given credit by Naiyāyikas for having demolished in a final fashion the claims of the Buddhist logicians.[7] All his known works are thought to have been preserved, attesting to the importance given to him in Indian philosophy.[8]
- ^ Dalal, Roshen (2014), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, UK: Penguin
- ^ Plott, C (2000). Global History of Philosophy: The Period of Scholasticism (Pt. II 800-1150 A. D.). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 476. ISBN 978-81-208-0551-4.
- ^ Dasgupta, Surendranath (1975). A History of Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0412-8.
- ^ Matilal, Bimal Krishna; Ganeri, Jonardon; Tiwari, Heeraman (1 January 1998). The Character of Logic in India. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3739-1.
- ^ "Udayana (11th century)". Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Subodh, Kapoor (2002), Companion Encyclopaedia of Hindu Philosophy: An Exposition of the Principle [sic] Religio-philosophical Systems and an Examination of Different Schools of Thought. Genesis Publishing
- ^ Vidyabhushana S.C. (1988). A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools. Motilal Banarsidass.
- ^ Potter, Karl; Bhattacharya, Sibajiban (1970). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol.2. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 521. ISBN 9788120803091. Retrieved 8 July 2020.