10. Description of Philosophical Ideals

(10) I DEALS :- 1 The traditional ideal of social and personal life seem to have been, of course, the accomplishment of the 193. PI, Vol.II,p.320. 194. ibid.,pVol.I,p.349. *

640 three principal Purusarthas, 195 in which the enjoyments of pelf, power and sense objects figured prominently. But one would be rather surprised to find that the ultimate end of all human endeavour in the form of penance, hardships and religious vows has been shown by the poet to be pure physical happiness of perpetual union of a married 196 couple, of course in the final human birth after which one was to attain Final Beatitude. And in this Dhanapala seems to have faithfully reflected the average mentality of normal human beings in any society of any period of human history. SYSTEMS } I (B) PHILOSOPHICAL Philosophical reflections have found vent in the TM when a character is placed in an unexpectedly dipressing situation, as in the case of Samaraketu who repented for having pressed Taraka in pursuit of the unknown music and 197 ended with the sudden disappearance of his beloved. another occasion Harivahana also relapses into a philosophizing mood when he is landed in a place from where it is 198 humanly impossible to return to his military camp. In 195. TM(N),p.28(2) 35794657 trivarga sampattih --- 1 On 196. ihid.,p.426 (911.) -- pratidivasamabhinavanyanubhava nnavavadhu vidyuvanotsava sukhani sukhamatisthat | 197. ibid., p.149(5ff.) 198. ibid.,p.244(18ff.).

641 both these places the emphasis is on the irony of human nature which is subjected to unexpected and infinite unhappiness on account of the pursuit of pleasure in transcient objects of transmigratory existence in this world. 199 The religious discourse by Maharsi, on the other hand, stresses the infallibility of the Law of Karma which seems to produce astonishing results in the form of rise or fall of the souls in higher or lower types of births. Over and above these reflections, the poet also refers occasionally to various tenets of the then current philosophical systems in the course of his descriptions, in order to show off his scholarship as also to entertain his learned audience by such double-meaning constructions or allusions. We shall list here some of the systems alluded to by Dhanapala in the TM. The tenets of Jainism (Arhaddarsana) repudiated the authority of the Vedas and Vedic systems (nigama).' Naturally the rival philosophical systems were considered 'bad systems' fit to be refuted outright, while the Jainistic tenets were upheld as the really 'True Philosophy' 201 (samyag-darsana). Among the principles of Jainism, a 199. TM(N),p.406ff. 200. ibid., p. 10 (13)-- arhaddarsanasthitiriva naigama vyavahara ksiptalo ka ... 1 201.. ibid., p.15 (14) -- pratipaksaksayo dhana muni kadhasu kusastra sraka - 1 ; 412 (4)-- samyagdarsana 1

642 few of the nine categories of fundamental truths are suggeted by a reference to Jiva, Apavarga, Bandhodaya-sthiti- -vibhaga, Adrsta and Kirti-namakarma. 202 Of the Buddhistic systems, the Vijnana-vada and the Sunya-vada are alluded to, while the principle of Santana 203 is also referred to once. The references to subjectivist attitude about the existence of the external world and their discomfiture in explaining the continuity of experience reminds one of the classic refutation of the Buddhistic systems at the hands of Sankaracarya in his commentary on the Brahmasutras of Badarayana. 204 205 The Purusa of the Sankhya system has been referred to as invariably coexisting with Prakrti. The specific use of the word 'Janma' in this connection would lend to the possibility that both Purusa and Prakrti were considered to have ha emanated from a third principle, possibly * svara. Though the Naiyayikas are usually found to be the worshippers of Siva, there seem to have been some Naiyayikas, possibly those who suscribed to Jain Nyaya, who were no devotees of Rudra, i.e. Siva. 206 Their system is also. 202. TMEN),p.411(21); 220(4); 412(3); 411(22); 30(4);413(2). lao 203. ibid, p.15 (13-14) -- bauddhanupalabdhera sadvyavahara pravartaka tyam---- - ; 28 (15) -- bauddha ivam sarvatah sunyadarsi santana siddhyartha matmanastamstanupa- yani tastatoda़ nvesayan -- 1 204. cf.BSB,II,ii,18-32. / 205. TM(N), p.278(5ff.)...UTF- saha bhuva pumaniva samkhya parikalpitah prakrtima muncan-- 1/205. (P. T. 0.)

643 referred to once as Tarkavidya which excelled in marshall- 207. ing irrefutable authoritative arguments; and as having 208 immense knowledge about the sources of knowledge (pramana). The Vaisesika system maintained the absolute eternity of Dravya, which was the primary Substance that served 209 as a substratum for Quality (guna). There is an oblique reference to the category called Samavaya also. The Vedanta doctrine of Vivarta has been indirectly alluded to once.211 And lastly, Dhanapala has clearly noticed the Tantric sects of Daksina and Vamamarga of Saivism in which their respective Agamas are considered authoritative, Siva is upheld as the Ultimate Reality, and the ritual involves the use of a corpse for propitiatory procedures. 212 * *** -* - - 207. TM (N), p. 24 (5ff.) 208. ibid., p.10(17) 209. ibid., p.12(15) satarkavidyamiva vidhi nirupitana vadya pramanam-- 1 pramana vidbhisya pramanavidhaih ... 1 vaisesikamate dravyasya kutasthanityata | WAK 15 (15£f.) -- vaisesikamate dravyasya pradhanyam gunanamupasarjana bhavah 210. ibid.,p.137(19). 211. ibid.,p.185(13). 212. ibid,p.198 (23rf.) pratipanna daksina vamanca bhagyaginaih param sivam samsaddhirabhipreta satha kaih saivaih --- 1