The Epistemology of Visistadvaita: A Study Based on the Nyayaparisuddhi of Vedanta Desika

The soundness of any system of philosophy depends on the logical foundations over which it is built. As such epistemology plays a crucial role in the course of its development. This book is an attempt at presenting the epistemology of the Visistadvaita Vedanta based on the thirteenth century classical text, Nyayaparisuddhi composed by the eminent poet philosopher Vedanta Desika. It deals with the Pramanas as accepted by the system. After a brief introduction, the second chapter discusses the concept of knowledge. The following three chapters closely follow the text in their treatment of the Pramanas. The sixth chapter analyses the desirability of other Pramanas as independent source of knowledge and concludes by showing how these can be subsumed in the three main Pramanas. The book represents an attempt at delving into an area that has not received much attention earlier.