Akalanka

For other people named Akalanka, see Akalanka (given name).

Acharya Shri 108 Akalanka Ji Maharaj
Image of Acharya Akalanka
Personal life
Born	720 CE
Died	780CE
Religious life
Religion	Jainism
Sect	Digambara

Akalaṅka [IAST: Akalaṅka] (also known as Akalaṅkadeva and Bhatta Akalaṅka) was a Jain logician whose Sanskrit-language works are seen as landmarks in Indian logic.^[1][2] He lived from 720 to 780 C. E. and belonged to the Digambara sect of Jainism.^[1][3] His work Aṣṭaśatī, a commentary on Āptamīmaṃsa of Ācārya Samantabhadra deals mainly with Jaina logic. He was a contemporary of Rāṣṭrakūta king Krishna I. He is the author of Tattvārtharājavārtika, a commentary on major Jaina text Tattvārtha Sutra. He greatly contributed to the development of the philosophy of Anekāntavāda and is therefore called the "Master of Jain logic".^[4][5]

Life

Akalaṅka flourished in 750 C. E.^[6] He was aware of the contents of the Aṅgas, although it cannot be said whether they represent an idea rather than a reality for him, and he also seems to have been the first Digambara to have introduced as a valid form of scriptural classification the division into kālika and utkālika texts which was also employed by the Śvetāmbaras.^[7] He is mentioned as a logician and a contemporary of Subhatunga and Rāṣṭrakūta king Krishna I.^[6]

The samādhi of Akalaṅka is located between Thurupammor and Karanthai villages, at a distance of 19 km from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Works

The following Sanskrit-language works are attributed to Akalaṅka. Some of these are:^[8][9]

1. Laghīyastraya: A compendium of three small treatises - Pramāṇapraveśa, Nayapraveśa, and Pravacanapraveśa.^[10]
2. Pramānasaṅgraha: A work on epistemology or pramāṇa.
3. Nyāyaviniścaya: A work dealing with perception, inference and pravacana.^[10]
4. Siddhiviniscaya-vivarana
5. Aṣṭaśatī: A short but important commentary on Samantabhadra's Aptamimamsa.^[10]
6. Tattvārtharājavārtika: A commentary on Tattvartha Sutra resembling to Nyāyavārtika of Udyotakara^[10]

See also

• Acharya Shri Akalaṅka Educational Trust
• Karanthai Samadhi of Acharya Akalaṅka at Thurupammor-Karanthai, Tamil Nadu ^[11]
• Devardhigani Kshamashraman
• Hemachandra
• Hiravijaya

Notes

1. Akalaṅka; Goyal, Devendra Kumar (1 January 2005). The Enlightened Vision of the Self. Radiant Publishers. p. 1,2. ISBN 9788170272441.
2. Ganga Ram Garg (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept. p. 288. ISBN 978-81-7022-375-7.
3. Singh & Baruah 2003, p. 9.
4. Singh & Baruah 2003, p. 110.
5. Singh & Mishra 2007, pp. 9–13.
6. Vidyabhusana 2006, p. 186.
7. Dundas 2002, p. 80.
8. Singh & Baruah 2003, p. 32.
9. Sures Chandra Banerji (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 10. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.
10. Maya Dhawan. Siddhi Vinischaya Of Anant Viracharya And Its Vritti Of Bhatt Akalanka Deva Mahendra Kumar Jain.
11. Pushpathanathar Jain Temple, Thurupammor-Karanthai

References

• Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992], The Jains (Second ed.), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-26605-X
• Singh, N.K.; Mishra, A.P. (2007), Encyclopaedia of Oriental Philosophy, vol. 7, Global Vision Publishing House, ISBN 978-81-8220-113-2
• Singh, Nagendra Kr; Baruah, Bibhuti (2003), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Pali Literature, Global Vision Publishing House, ISBN 978-81-87746-67-6
• Vidyabhusana, Satis Chandra (2006) [1920], A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0565-8

Further reading

• Akalaṅka. Tattvārthavārttikā (Rājavārttikam), ed. Mahendrakumar, 2 vols, Kashi, 1953 and 1957.