Śrīvatsācārya, a long‑forgotten Naiyāyika

Summary

In this miscellany piece the author introduces Śrīvatsācārya, a little‑known figure in Indian philosophy. The only known reference to Śrīvatsa comes from Rājashekhara’s commentary on the Nyāya‑kaṇḍalī, where he lists four commentaries on the Prasastapāda‑bhāṣya, including a Līlāvatī by Śrīvatsācārya. Because no works of Śrīvatsa were known, scholars assumed this was a mistaken reference to Śrī Vallabha’s Nyāyālaṭāvatī. The author disputes that assumption, citing Udayanācārya’s Nyāya‑vārttika‑tātparya‑pariśuddhi, which mentions a commentary by Śrīvatsa and reproduces verses from it. A fragment of this work, written in old Bengali script and containing 26 folios, is in the author’s possession. The manuscript’s marginalia refer to it as a ‘Vṛtti’ or ‘Nibandha,’ indicating a commentary. The article summarises its contents—opening with a dedicatory verse to Kṛṣṇa and then discussing categories of Nyāya metaphysics—and notes colophons that suggest it was completed twice. Evidence of Śrīvatsa’s existence leads the author to conclude that he was probably a pupil of Udayana and active around the 10th or 11th century. The rediscovery of his work corrects the belief that Rājashekhara’s reference was careless and underscores the richness of regional Nyāya literature.