Publisher's Synopsis
Seven works by the Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti (ca. 600-660 CE) are still nearly completely extant in their original Sanskrit. For the most part they deal with logic, theories of perception and Buddhism. The Prama?avarttikam with its prose self-commentary (Svavrtti), consisting of four chapters, is considered an early composition of Dharmakirti and is without doubt his most important work. In the first chapter of the Pramanavarttikam, Dharmakirti devotes himself to a long excursus concerning the substantiation of scriptural authority (agamapramanya). Here the famous Indian logician presents his own thoughts and enters a long contestation with the orthodox and ritual-oriented Mimamsa School. The main part of the present study is an annotated translation into French of the verses 213268 and their respective commentary. The translation has been undertaken from a historical as well as intellectual perspective and includes several appendixes (among them a critical edition of the Tibetian version of the passage). This volume presents both the first translation of this section of the Pramanavarttikam into a Western language and a first fundamental discussion of the doctrines contained therein. The study also intends to appraise more closely the importance of Dharmakirti's works from their historical and ideological as well as their traditional context.
