Religion and Politics in Kashmir at the Turn of the Tenth Dentury - Csaba Dezso

8/3/2019 Religion and Politics in Kashmir at the Turn of the Tenth Dentury - Csaba Dezso

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Religion and Politics in Kashmir at theTurn of the Tenth Century

Csaba DezsFebruary 11, 2012

Indologists may consider themselves fortunate that the first truly critical edition andEnglish translation of theR jataragi, together with a rich and highly eruditeannotation was prepared by such an outstanding scholar as Sir Aurel Stein. His

philological precision and untiring inquisitiveness about every aspect of the mediaevalhistory of Kashmir were a guarantee that his work has remained an invaluable sourcefor both Sanskritists and Historians even more than a hundred years following its

publication.As a historical source, the R jataragi must be treated cautiously. As Steinremarks, Kalhaa new nothing of that critical spirit which to us now appears the

indispensable qualification of the historian.1 We might add that Kalhaa didcertainly not intend to write the work of a historiographer: the R jataragi

belongs to the genre of Belles-lettres and thus bears the characteristic marks ofclas ical Indian k vya literature. Nevertheless, since fate was not merciful to othersources of the mediaeval history of Kashmir such as epigraphs, Kalhaasmah k vya

s

remains indispensable.There is, however, another important work which deals with the political and religioushistory of late ninth century Kashmir: the gamaambara, a four-act play by theeminent Naiy yika philosopher, Bhaa Jayanta. Jayantas play transgresses severalrules of classical Indian dramaturgy and presents the contemporary affairs of variousreligious schools and their relation to the politics of the ruling sovereign, king

akaravarman (883902).Although several details of Bha--a Jayantas life are lost for us, his personalitytakes a more distinct shape than that of many classical Indian poets and philosophers.His son, A bhinanda introduces his epitome of theK dambar with a shortgenealogy,2 and Jayanta himself also discloses a few fact about his family and hisown career in the gamaambara as well as in his magnum opus, the

Ny yamajar. From the information we can glean from these sources it appearsthat Jayanta was born in a wealthy and respected orthodox Brahman family of Gaua(Bengali) origin, which settled in D rv bhis ra, a territory at the frontiers ofKashmir.Jayantas great-grandfather, aktisv min, gained influence on the political life ofKashmir: he became the minister of king Lalit ditya-Mukt p a of theKarko-a dynasty (c. 724761).3His grandfather obtained the village of Gauramlaka, which was situated on theterritory of D rv bhis ra.1 RT(S) vol. I, p. 28.2K dambarkath sara, pp. 1f. Cf. BHLER1873, pp. 103ff. Bhleridentified this Abhinanda with the author of theR macarita-mah k vya. Thelatter poet, however, calls himself the son of at nanda (seeR macarita, p. 39.)3 On the chronology of the Karko-a dynasty see RT(S) vol. I, pp. 66ff. Kalhaadoes not mention aktisv min, h. He does however mention a minister ofLalit ditya called Mitraarman (R jataragi 4.137f.).


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Jayanta himself soon turned out to be a child genius: at a tender age he composed acommentary to P inis grammar and earned the name (New) Commentator,(Nava-)Vttik ra.4 Later he made himself master of various stras and

gamas,5 distinguished himself in scholarly debates,6 and passed on his knowledgeto a circle of students.7

Jayanta seems to have written three works on Ny ya, of which only two are extant:his magnum opus, the Ny yamajar (A Cluster of Flowers of [the]Ny ya[-tree]), and the Ny yakalik (A Bud of [the] Ny ya[-tree]).8 AThird work called Pallava (possibly Ny yapallava, A Twig of [the] Ny ya[-tree]) is quoted in the Sy dv daratn kara;9 Raghavan assumed that it was amoderately sized metrical gloss on Gautama.10 From the opening and closing

benedictory verses of theNy yamajar we can presume that Jayanta wasa devotee of iva,11 while the fact that he thinks very highly of the Atharvaveda12might indicate, as Raghavan pointed out, that Jayanta belonged to theAtharvaveda.13Abhinanda admires his fathers poetic talent,14 and though the style of the

Ny yamajar amply confirms Abhinandas admiration, only onek vya work of Jayanta is extant: the ga ma ambara. Since a verse that isquoted in the play (Act Four, verse 53) as Jayantas wise saying (sktam) is alsofound in theNy yamajar (vol. I, p. 640), it seems probable that Jayantawrote the ga ma ambara following his major work on Ny ya.15The ga ma ambara provides valuable details about Jayantas political4 See ga ma ambara, Act Four, verse 52, and Prologue. Also

K dambarkath s ra, verse 11,Ny yamajar, vol. II, p. 718.5 SeeK dambarkath s ra, verse 11, ga ma ambara, Act Four,verse 52, Act Two, ll. 406f.6 SeeNy yamajar, vol. II, p. 718.7 Jayantas play was staged by hisiyapariad.8 According to Steinkellner (1961, p. 159), [d]ie verffentlichte Ny yakalikist kein Jayantawerk, sondern eine spte Kompilation von Jayanta-Stzen (note16: Nach Angaben von V. Raghavan, Madras.) Marui, however, after carefulconsideration, is inclined to accept Jayantas authorship (see MARUI).9 See STEINKELLNER1961, p. 159; gamaambara (ed. pr.), p. v, note 8; MARUI, p.93.10gamaambara (ed. pr.), p. v.11 The first verse in theNy yamajar is addressed to ambhu, thesecond to Bhav n, the third to Gaapati. In the penultimate verse of his workJayanta says that he composed theNy yamajar meditating on the feetof [iva] whose diadem is the crescent(candrakal rdhac acaraadhy y), and in the closing verse he again paysreverence to ambhu.12 Cf.Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 5. In the section on vedapr m yaJayanta spares no pains to prove the Veda-status of the Atharvaveda, and he evenasserts that it is actually the foremost of all the four Vedas(Ny yamajar, vol. II, p. 626: atharvaveda eva prathama).13gamaambara (ed. pr.), p. iii.14K dambarkath s ra, verse 10, quoted above.15 Actually there are many more parallel passages in the two texts (without theindication of the source in the play).


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career. We learn that he was the adviser (am tya) of king akaravarman(883902), and played a great part in banishing the heterodox sect of the Black-Blankets from Kashmir. The nl mbaras and their sad fate are also mentioned intheNy yamajar.In a verse in the Ny yamajar Jayanta gives curious details about thecircumstances among which he wrote his magnum opus:

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I had been transferred by the king to this forest, a wordless place of confinement. Ihave spent the years here with the pastime of writing a book.

Cakradhara, the commentator of the Ny yamajar supplements thisrather enigmatic verse with the following information:17

The report runs that he spent a long time by His Majesty king akaravarmansorder in the forest, somewhere in Khasa-land in Kashmir.

Since Jayantas great-grandfather, aktisv min was a minister of the Kashmirianking Mukt p a-Lalit ditya, who reigned between c. 724761,18 it seems

probable that Jayanta was in his fifties-sixties at the end of the ninth century. 19

Kalhaa does not give a favourable account of the king whom Jayanta served asadviser. After his successful campaign against Grjara through the kingdom ofD rv bhis ra, akaravarman came more and more under the sway ofavarice and became master in exploiting his people.20 Since his campaigns had

probably emptied the treasury, the king introduced fines, taxes, systematic forcedlabour, and established two new revenue offices.21 He also deprived the temples fromthe profits they had from the sale of various articles of worship, simply plundered,as Kalhaa puts it, sixty-four temples through special supervising officers,22resumed under direct state management villages held as agrah ras by the temples,and manipulating the weight in the scales he cheated the temple-corporations(parads), reducing the allotment assigned as compensation for the villages. 23 Thevillages gradually sank into poverty under the fiscal oppression, while clerks,

16Ny yamajar, vol. II, p. 199.17Granthibhaga, p. 167.18 On the chronology of the K rko-a dynasty see RT(S) vol. I, pp. 66ff.19 Cf. HACKER1951, pp. 110ff.20praj p aapa ita,R jataragi 5.165.21R jataragi 5.167ff.22R jataragi 5.168169.23R jataragi 5.170170, see also Steins notes in RT(S), vol. I,

pp. 208f.


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secretaries, and tax-collectors (k yasthas, diviras) ruled.24Unlike his father Avantivarman, who showered honours and fortunes on scholars and

poets,25 akaravarman was not a liberal patron ofarts: as Kalhaa says, it wasdue to him that the learned were not respected.26 The king was so afraid ofwastingspending money that he turned his back on the worthy, and as a result such

eminent poets as Bhalla-a had to live in penury,27

while the low-born Lava-a, whowas made treasurer (gajavara), thrived.28 akaravarman himself, giving

proof of his boorishness, refused to speak Sanskrit, and used apabhraa instead, alanguage fit for drunkards in Kalhaas esteem.29Jayanta gives a more favourable account of king akaravarman in hisga ma ambara. He is said to be supremely devoted to iva, andmerciful to all religious schools.30 The aiva Abbot figuring in the play also holdsa high opinion of the king: The merits of this king are celebrated all over the world,and his attention is solely devoted to social and religious order;31 As long as HisMajesty akaravarman righteously rules the country which has fallen to him, thekingdom belongs to the virtuous alone, but he supports it.32 In the fourth act the hero

of the play, looking at the assembly of scholars, exclaims as follows: Howwonderful! Now the kingdom looks exactly like Brahm s heaventhe kingdom ofHis Majesty Yaovarmadeva33 of holy fame, whose heart is with the Destroyer ofthe Cities [of the demons, i.e. iva], an ocean of enviable virtues, who adorns his ear

by listening to the valuable [advices] of the learned, and fulfils the wishes of everyhonest man.34The two s dhakas in the play, however, who represent a more antisocial form ofaivism, are not satisfied either with the king,35 or with the present state of thekingdom, because in every region, every single town, every village, everywhere thesound of Veda-recitation grates on the ear, the smell of ghee stings the nose, thesmoke of sacrifice brings tears to the eyes.36 They are particularly upset because theking, shoulder to shoulder with his rough (viama) adviser, Jayanta, has nabbedthe mendicant Nl mbaras, beat them to jelly, and expelled them from thekingdom, on the grounds that they were outside Vedic religion. And if any othermendicant is caught, who is outside Vedic religion, hell be beaten up, killed, thrownin jail, [or] slain.37 And indeed a herald comes and proclaims the order of the king:38

24R jataragi 5.175ff.25R jataragi 5.33f. Kalhaa mentions Mukt kaa,ivasv min (the author of theKapphin bhyudaya), nandavardhana, andRatn kara (who composed theHaravijaya) as members of Avantivarmans

sabh .26R jataragi 5.179: nimitta sarvavidy n m an dare.27R jataragi 5.204.28R jataragi 5.177, 205.29R jataragi 5.206.30ga ma ambara, Act Three, ll. 159f.31 Ibid. verse 8a.32 Ibid. ll. 219f.33 akaravarman used the same name on his Karkoa-style coins (see RAY).34ga ma ambara, Act Four, ll. 77ff.35ga ma ambara, Act Three, l. 34: d lue khu l e akalavamme.36 Ibid. ll. 81ff.37 Ibid. ll. 34ff.


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Those virtuous people who have fallen into the beginningless stream of the world andbelong to various religionsthey should remain as they are, performing thosepractices which are prescribed by their own religious discipline. Those depraved ones,however, who devastate the established social and religious orderif they dont leaveimmediately, the king will strike them like thieves.Those virtuous people who havefallen into the beginningless stream of the world and belong to various religionsthey should remain as they are, performing practices prescribed by their own religiousdiscipline. Those criminal false ascetics, however, who devastate the establishedsocial and religious orderif they dont leave immediately, the king will strike themlike thieves.

On the basis of the information gathered from Jayantas play and the

R jataragi we can sketch the portrait of a king who kept a fasthold on his country. akaravarman appears to have exercised tight centralcontrol over both fiscal and religious matters in Kashmir, and preferred his subjects to

be dutiful and conformist. He certainly disliked the squandering of money, and anobleman who organized lavish dinners for mendicants instead of offering his wealthand services to the king could surely expect the confiscation of his property.39akaravarmans policy in religious matters was revived by Yaaskara (939948), who restored order in Kashmir after the chaotic reigns of various debauchedkings following the death of akaravarman. Yaaskara, himself aBrahman brahmin and elected as king by an assembly of Brahmans brahmins, was achampion of orthodoxy, and, similarly to akaravarman, he was notfavourably disposed towards anti-dharmic religious practices.Jayantas views in religious matters were as conservative as those ofaka ravarman. In his opinion the primary taskof Ny ya is to protect theauthority of the Veda (vedapr m yarak ).40 However, as Dr. Kataoka

pointed out,41 this prayojana does not tally with the statements of olderNaiy yikas, who proclaim that Ny ya provides us with the knowledge of the realnature of the objects of cognition (prameyatattvaj na, and above all

tmaj na), which results in liberation (apavarga), independently of the Veda.Beside fulfilling this particular purpose (prayojana), Ny ya also contributes to theother sciences, furnishing them with a valid method of argumentation.

From Kauilyas description it appears that the category of investigative science( nvkik) includes several schools of learning (S khya, Yoga, andLok yata) which are not necessarily rooted in Vedic orthodoxy. ForV tsy yana, Ny ya fulfills the role of nvkik inasmuch as itestablishes and employs the method of logical inquiry; the results of this inquiry,however, must be in conformity with the information received from sense perceptionand scripture.42 Orthodox writers on dharma stra also expressed the view that38ga ma ambara, Act Three, verse 1.39 Cf. ga ma ambara, Act Two, ll. 315ff.40 Cf.Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 7, 11.41 KATAOKA, pp. 5ff.42Ny yabh ya, p. 3.


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not every kind of reasoning is commendable.According to Jayanta, Ny ya is not only in conformity with scripture but it is alsothe main supporting-pillar of all sciences, because it is the means of the protection ofthe Vedas authority.43 It is Ak ap das Ny ya which is referred to as tarka andny yavistara in the list of the fourteen sciences,44 and not any other doctrine:45

For, what sort of skill do the mendicant S khyas and Jains, to begin with, have inteaching reasoning? To what extent is the authority of the Veda protected by theirtarka? Thus it does not qualify to take it into account here. As for the Buddhists,although they walk with their head high in the air because of their dexterity in delvingdeep into the ways of reasoning, nevertheless, since they oppose the Veda, how couldtheirtarkabecause theirtarka is opposed to the Veda, how could it be mentionedamong the sciences headed by the Veda? And we shall also demonstrate at every stepwhat is the Buddhists skill in reasoning is like. As for the wretched C rv kas,they must simply be discarded. What sort of scope is there to reckonfor countingherewith their trifling tarka among [the fourteen sciences]? The Vaieikas, on the otherhand, just follow us [Naiy yikas]. Thus, even if this group of six tarkas is well-known among the people, it is this stra [of Ak ap da] alone which is referredto with the words tarka and ny yavistara.Jayantas rigour with which he separates Veda-protecting Ny ya from heterodoxtarkas will appear even more marked in the light of the works of some earlier

Naiy yikas. Bh vivikta, who appears to have written a commentary on theNy yabh ya probably in the period between Dign ga and Dharmakrti,46was, according to Cakradhara, one of the old C rv kas(cirantanac rv k )47 mentioned by Jayanta in his

Ny yamajar.48 Similarly Aviddhakara, who also wrote aBh yak before the time of Dharmakrti, seems to have composed aC rv ka Tattva k as well.49Jayanta, far from making excursions to the field of heterodox tarkas, takes a strongline against depraved logicians (du at rkik ) and their destructivespeculations:50According to Jayanta, Mm s , the science which could be regarded as the43Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 7.44Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 8, quoting Y javalkya-smti 1.3 andanother verse of unknown source. As Kataoka pointed out (KATAOKA, pp. 17ff.), thisfourteen-fold list enables Jayanta to limit the scope of all sciences to thetranscendental (ada), and to place thefourVedas (and not tray) headed byAtharvaveda on the top of the hierarchy ofvidy s.45Ny yamajar, vol. I, pp. 8f.46 Cf. STEINKELLNER1961, p. 153; WEZLER1975, p. 143.47Granthibhaga, p. 197.48Ny yamajar, vol. II, p. 249.49 Cf. STEINKELLNER1961, pp. 153ff.50Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 7.


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primary Veda-protector number one, has a different, more important task: theexamination of the meaning of Vedic texts (arthavic ra).51 On the other hand,Mm sakas are rambling on an illusive path on which progress is blocked bythe multitude of thorns of faulty speculation, 52 and thus their theories of

svata pr m ya (all means of cognition are valid by themselves) andapaurueyatva (the Veda has no author) theories is are inadequate to protect theVeda. It is only the Ny ya theory of ptoktatva (verbal testimony is valid

because it has been pronounced by a reliable person, who is God himselfin the caseof the Veda) that is able to establish and defend the authority of the Veda,53 which is,in Jayantas view, Ny yas principal mission.Considering all this it may seem surprising that the leading character of Jayantas

play, the crusader of Vedic orthodoxy, is a Mm saka. The young and dynamicSakaraa has just finished his Vedic studies (and so he has become a graduate,

sn taka). His ardour knows no bounds: he is eager to find someone who dares to bean enemy of the Veda (vedadvi), in order to stamp him flat with the ram ofreasoning.54

In the first act Sakaraa systematically refutes in front of distinguished andunbiased umpires55 the bhikus arguments about Universal Momentariness(kaikatva) and Consciousness as the Only Reality (vij nav da). Thus hescores his first victory against the depraved logicians who try to undermine Vedicorder,56 and summons the Buddhists to stop deceiving themselves and others with the

promise of a better afterlife for those who follow the Buddhas doctrine. In the secondact the Mm saka lets another heterodox teacher, a Jain monk, slip, notconsidering him a significant threat to the established socio-religious order.57 Thedebauched behaviour of the Black-Blankets, however, requires instant measures, justas as do the shady practices of the aiva adepts.Problems start to emerge for our hero in the third act of the play, when he has torefine the circle of those sects whose presence in the kingdom is unwanted. In fact,the Mm saka is ready to form an alliance with the Saiddh ntika aiva

professor against the irreligious C rv kas, represented by the arrogantV ddh mbhi who outlines a clear program: I am going to do away with God, setaside transmigration, demolish the validity of the Vedas, and thereby turn this king

back from this wrong path and establish him on the right track, so that he,

51Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 10.52Ny yamajar, ibid. Cf. KATAOKA, pp. 26ff.53 Cf.Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 10, pp. 430ff, KATAOKA, pp. 27ff.54ga ma ambara, Act One, verse 11.55 One of them is called Vivarpa, whose name might echo that of a commentatorof theNy yabh ya (cf. STEINKELLNER1961, p. 158; WEZLER1975, pp. 139ff.)56 The bhiku whom the Mm saka defeats is called Dharmottara, just as one ofDharmakrtis most prominent followers, who, according to the

R jataragi (4.498), settled in Kashmir. His arguments are similarto those of Dharmakrti on the one hand, and to the views ofvij nav da as

presented by Kum rila. The Mm saka in his refutation (just as Jayanta intheNy yamajar) draws upon Kum rilaslokav rtika.57 As Jayanta reports, king akaravarman also gave quarter to the Jains(Ny yamajar, vol. 649). On the other hand, the Jain theory ofanek ntav da is not far removed from certain ideas expounded by Kum rila(cf. UNO).


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concentrating on wealth and polity, can enjoy his kingship for a long time. I amgoing to take this opportunity to do away with God, set aside the world-to-come,demolish the validity of the Vedas, and thereby turn this king back from this wrong

path and establish him on the right track, so that he, concentrating on worldlyprosperity, can enjoy his kingship for a long time.58

Now the question may arise whether the C rv kas or C rv ka ideas had areal influence on the Kashmirian monarch. According to Kalhaas account,akaravarman was a king who concentrated on artha above all, and he had noscruples about fleecing the temples in order to fill the treasury. On the other hand, asJayanta shows in the Ny yamajar, Lok yata was not a long-forgotten philosophy in the ninth century. A part from such old C rv kas(cirantanac rv k ) as Bh vivikta,59 Jayanta also had to deal with well-educated C rv kas (suikitac rv k ), such innovators as Udbhaa,60whom he simply calls the shrewd C rv ka (c rv kadhrta).61 It iscertainly tempting to identify this Udbhaa with the sabh pati of kingJay pa (R jataragi, 4.495, 7.482, 8.2227) and / or withthe lak rika author of the K vy lak ras rasagraha. Theformer would also indicate that a C rv ka could occupy an influential post in theroyal court at the end of the eighth century. Whatever may be the truth about theidentity of these Udbhaas, the fact that Jayanta took the trouble to refute the ideas ofthe C rv ka Udbhaa on several pages of the Ny yamajar showsthat this tradition was very much alive in his time, and a king like akaravarmanmay well have been responsive to its anti-religionist ideas.The vikambhaka preceding the final act makes it clear that Sakaraa has lost thetrust of Vedic Brahmans:62

aivas, P upatas, P car trikas, S khyas, Buddhists, Sky-CladJains and other [heretics]: all of them have remained as they were. Shame on theuseless learning of the Graduate!

The aboveThis lamentation of the tvij makes a sharp contrast to the entrance verse ofthe Mm saka in the first act, when in which he took an oath to humiliate allthe enemies of the Veda, and thereby to make his learning fruitful. But, my friend,

explains the (perhaps older and more experienced) up

dhy ya to thetvij, he has

58ga ma ambara, Act Three, ll. 232ff. As Raghavan suggested,V ddh mbhi is likely to be an echo of the ancient school of Artha stra, cited

by Kauilya as the mbhyas (gamaambara (ed. pr.), pp. xxiv f.). According tothese mbhyas, the prince should be tempted, in order to prove him, with hunting,gambling, alcohol, women, and suggesting him to seize power from his father.Kauilya rejects this theory (Artha stra, 1.13).59 Cf.Ny yamajar, vol. II, p. 349, Granthibhaga, p. 197.60 Cf.Ny yamajar, vol. I, pp. 94, 326, 451; vol. II, pp. 8, 348, 687;Granthibhaga, pp. 19, 197, 198.61Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 168; Granthibhaga, p. 43.62ga ma ambara, Act Four, ll. 5ff.


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become the kings man by now. And the king is supremely devoted to iva, soSakaraa has to be completely focussed on propitiating Him. For in amonarchs vicinity [his] men keep repeating his words, but, eager to increase theirown influence, they do not distinguish between good or bad, like echoes.63Sakaraa is indeed in a great dilemma indeed: either he should enter into a

debate and prove the falsity of the teachings of the Bh gavatas, an gamasupported by the queen and another member of the court, just as he did in the case ofthe n stikas, or he should defend them, in which case he would completely lose hisface before the Vaidikas. That the Bh gavatas were indeed striving to achieveVedic status for their gama in Jayantas time is also indicated by Cakradharasfollowing remark:64 Bhagavat Pu kar k a, the principal mendicant, who wrote acommentary to thestras of Bhagavat B dar yaa, accepted the view that thePacar tra and other [ gamas] are based of the Veda. Sakaraa cannotresolve the tension between his devotion to Viu and his duty to reject all non-Vedicscriptures as a Mm saka. It is the great naiy yika scholar, Dhairyar i,who smoothes all differences away as the arbitrator appointed by the court in the

debate between Vaiavas and Vaidikas. Sakaraas only task is to give tacitsupport, which he happily accepts.Dhairyar is mission is not to enter into a controversy or to defeat anybody in adebate; on the contrary, he comes to pour oil on troubled waters. Accordingly hedelivers a long lecture instead of discussing things, and his overwhelming authoritygives even more emphasis to his words. He proves to be a real

sarv gamapr m yav din (one who holds the validity of all religiousscriptures), and his argumentation mirrors exactly the views presented by Jayanta inhis Ny yamajar.65 In his magnum opus Bhaa Jayanta, the orthodox Brahmanand naiy yika philosopher, concludes the first part of his comments on the validityof scriptures with the following words: Any religion which is outside the Veda isonly cheating nothing but deception.66 The circle of acceptable religions, however, iswider for Jayanta than for a Mm saka such as Kum rila, since he alsoincludes the Pacar tra and the aiva gamas, on the grounds that, firstly,their author, just as the author of the Veda, is a reliable person, namely God, and,secondly, they are not incompatible with the Veda. 67 On the other hand the Buddhistsand the so called liberators from transmigration sa s ramocakas, are stillconsidered as vedab hya and therefore not authoritative.At this point Jayantas exposition about the validity of scriptures takes a surprisingturn: Others have accepted the validity of all scriptures because cognition withoutsupersession [by a subsequent cognition] or uncertainty has arisen from all of them.68

He does not tell us explicitly who hold this peculiar view, nor if he supports or rejectssarv gamapr m ya. Still it is significant that he presents it as the concludingpaka in the context of the validity of religions, and he takes pains to enumeratearguments supporting this position. One has the impression that Jayanta must havesuffered real pain, especially when he tries to find excuses even for Buddhism. Hemanages to show that the doctrine of nair tmya serves only to induce the63ga ma ambara, Act Four, ll. 11ff.64Granthibhaga, p. 112.65Ny yamajar, vol. I, pp. 640ff.66Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 639.67Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 637.68 Ibid. p. 640.


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relaxation of the Self,69 and that the Knowledge that Buddhists strive after is verysimilar to the Self because of its freedom and independence.70 He also demonstratesthat the Buddha is just as omniscient as Kapila and the other sages, and finally thatBuddhists do not really mean it when they refute the caste-system, but they just crave

praise on account of the excellence of their compassion disposed to help

everybodyas for the refutation of the doctrine of caste in Buddhist scriptures, itspurpose is [only] to laud the high degree of [the Buddhas] compassion that seeks tohelp all [creatures], and it should not be taken literally. 71 If one holds the view thatGod is the author of all valid scriptures, says Jayanta, then we may argue that only the

body of the Buddha was the son of uddhodana, his soul was Lord Viupersonally.72 If one says that all valid gamas must be based on the Veda, thenassiduous experts are ready to find some Vedic grounds even for wearing red robes,or for smearing oneself with ashes and carrying a skull.73The key to Jayantas turnaround is given at the end of the section dealing with

gamapr m ya in the Ny yamajar (pp. 648649). First Jayantaenumerates those criteria on the basis of which an gama can be regarded as valid:it must have obtained celebrity with which nobody finds fault, many learned peopleshould accept it, it should not appear to be unprecedented, its raison dtremust not

be greed, etc., and finally it should not cause abhorrence among people.74 ThenJayanta gives an example how these liberal principles can be put into practice: kingakaravarman suppressed the practice of the Black-Blankets, but he spared forinstance the Jains.75 Thus the criterion of validity is not so much the veracity of

propositions in a given scripture, but rather the degree of its recognition and itsinherent possibilities of overthrowing social order.76 This was probably fitting in the

broader Religionspolitik of the king, which, as Wezler pointed out, could motivateJayantas whole ex position of thesarv gamapr m ya-theory in his

Ny yamajar.77And the right person who can to decide in these such delicate issues like as whichconduct is wicked enough to be suppressed, and what are the criteria of thiswickedness, is the king himself, and those people in his service who put his ordersinto effect. In the gamaambara, the Mm sakas position in these questions,

just as his career and livelihood as a married householder and the kings man, dependson the will of his superiors, as Bhaa Jayanta, who served king akaravarman ashis adviser, knew very well.

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gamaambara (ed. pr.) gamaambara, otherwise called

69 Ibid. p. 641.70 Ibid.71 Ibid. p. 643.72 Ibid. p. 644.73 Ibid. p. 647.74 Ibid. p. 648.75Ny yamajar, vol. I, p. 649, quoted above.76 On the ground ofsarv gamapr m ya only anti-social sects and Lok yataare rejected, the latter because its statements are based merely onprvapakastatements in Vedic texts (cf.Ny yamajar, vol. I, pp. 647f).77 See WEZLER1976, p. 340.


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Banarsidass, Delhi, 1989 (reprinted from the edition of 1900); vol. III:Sanskrit text with critical notes, edited by M. A. Stein, Motilal Banarsidass,Delhi, 1988 (reprinted from the Bombay edition of 1892). BHLER, G. Abhinanda the Gau a in The Indian Antiquary,April, 1873, pp. 102106. HACKER, Paul. Jayantabha a und V caspatimira, ihre Zeit undihre Bedeutung fr die Chronologie des Ved nta in Alt- und Neu-

Indische Studien 7, 1951, pp. 160169. (=Kleine Schriften, pp. 110119.) KATAOKA, Kei. What Really Protects the Vedas? Jayanta on

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Ny yakalik his Authentic Work? in The Way to Liberation. IndologicalStudies in Japan in two volumes, Japanese Studies on South Asia No. 3, ed.Sengaku Mayeda, vol. I, Manohar, New Delhi, 2000, pp. 91106. RAY, Sunil Chandra. The Identity of the Yaovarman of SomeMediaeval Coins in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Letters, vol.XVII, No. 1, 1951. STEINKELLNER, Ernst. Die Literatur des lteren Ny ya in Wiener

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,,vy khy t ra in Ja yantabhaas Ny yamajar inWiener Zeitschrift fr die Kunde Sdasiens XIX, 1975, pp. 135146. WEZLER, Albrecht. Zur Proklamation religios-weltanschaulicherToleranz bei dem indischen Philosophen Jayantabhaa in Saeculum 27,1976, pp. 329347.

Religion and Politics in Kashmir at the Turn of the Tenth Dentury - Csaba Dezso

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Transcript of Religion and Politics in Kashmir at the Turn of the Tenth Dentury - Csaba Dezso