Existence and Perception in Medieval Ved?nta

This book focuses on discussions of metaphysics and epistemology in early modern India found in the works of the South Indian philosopher Vy?sat?rtha (1460?1539). Vy?sat?rtha was pivotal to the ascendancy of the M?dhva tradition to intellectual and political influence in the Vijayanagara Empire.

This book is primarily a philosophical reconstruction based on original translations of relevant parts of Vy?sat?rtha?s Sanskrit philosophical text, the ?Nectar of Logic? (Ny?y?mr?ta). Vy?sat?rtha wrote the Ny?y?mr?ta as a vindication of his tradition?s theistic world view against the Advaita tradition of Ved?nta. In the centuries after it was written, the Ny?y?mr?ta came to dominate philosophical discussions among Ved?nta traditions in India.

The Advaitins argued for an anti-realist stance about the empirical world, according to which the world of our experience is simply an illusion that can be dispelled by a deep study of the Upani?ads. This book reconstructs the parts of the Ny?y?mr?ta where Vy?sat?rtha argues in favor of the reality of the world against the Advaitins. Philosophically, it focuses on the concept of existence in Vy?sat?rtha?s metaphysics, and on his arguments about knowledge and the philosophy of perception.