Udbhaṭa
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A History of Materialism From Ajita to Udbhaṭa Part IV
The Jayarāśi Question The Lion Assailing the Verities (Tattvopaplavasiṃha), written by Jayarāśi probably in the ninth century, has been claimed by some scholars to be the only surviving Cārvāka work. Others have challenged this view.[i] Since there is no external evidence to settle the question, the debate continues solely on the basis of internal evidence…
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A History of Materialism From Ajita to Udbhaṭa
Part IWhat is Materialism? The word “materialism,” as the name of a distinct approach to nature (including human nature) in the context of philosophy, is found only relatively recently. The first recorded occurrence of the term in English, presumably borrowed from French, dates from the mid-eighteenth century. “Idealism,” the contrary of “materialism,” is not found in…
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Hemacandra and the Misunderstanding of Cārvāka Inference
This analysis reveals how Jain scholar Hemacandra and commentator Malliṣeṇa misrepresented Cārvāka epistemology by ignoring commentarial literature. Contrary to their claim that Cārvākas rejected all inference, commentators like Purandara, Aviddhakarṇa, and Udbhaṭa affirmed empirical inference for daily life while rejecting its use for unobservable, supernatural entities like heaven or karma.
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Jayanta Bhaṭṭa’s Inconsistencies and Misrepresentations
This section analyzes Nyāya scholar Jayanta Bhaṭṭa’s contradictory polemics against Cārvāka epistemology in the Nyāyamañjarī. By shifting inconsistently between the base sūtra text and Udbhaṭa’s commentary, Jayanta obscured the Cārvāka acceptance of practical, worldly inference, misrepresenting their nuanced empirical position as absolute agnostic skepticism to undermine their materialist philosophy in debate.
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Udbhaṭa’s Revisionism and Nyāya-Style Exegesis
This essay analyzes Bhaṭṭodbhaṭa’s controversial commentary on the Cārvākasūtra. Utilizing Nyāya terminology and linguistic reinterpretations, Udbhaṭa departed from traditional monistic materialism toward a dualist stance on body and consciousness. His revisionist exegesis was heavily cited by opponents like Jayanta Bhaṭṭa to critique materialist philosophy in Indian debate.
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The Ontology and Epistemology of the Cārvāka/Lokāyata
Ramakrishna Bhattacharya outlines Cārvāka four-elemental ontology and perception-based epistemology, examining how commentators defended these views. While Purandara and Aviddhakarṇa affirmed empirical inference, revisionists like Udbhaṭa introduced Nyāya categories and dualism. Bhattacharya argues that forced glosses moving away from the author’s original intent represent hermeneutical inconsistencies rather than genuine internal development.