Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s5.t17.1

c6.s5.t17.1

Udayana, one of the most brilliant stars in the firmament of philosophy, was born in the second half of the tenth century CE in a village near Darbhanga in Bihar. The period of his activity extends to the first half of the eleventh century. One of the greatest Naiyāyikas, he acquired legendary fame for countering Buddhism through scholastic debates and through his writings. In *Bhaktimāhātmya*, he is eulogized as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, who delighted the scholars by his *Kiraṇāvalī* (cluster of rays, the title of one of his works).¹⁴⁶ As per textual evidence, *Kiraṇāvalī* the text referred by *Bhaktimāhātmya* with a pun was composed in CE 984. Śrīdhara, a wellknown author of *Nyāyakandalī*, another eminent Naiyāyika, who lived in Bengal, was his contemporary and both Udayana and Śrīdhara seem to criticize each other in *Kiraṇāvalī* and *Nyāyakandalī*, respectively. He has cited a verse of Buddhist philosopher Jñānaśrī and has also refuted his views.