3 06 The Nyiiya- Vaifeika Philosophy [CH. appears from the Vayu purana that he was born in Prabhasa near Dvaraka, and was the disciple of Somasarma. The time of Prasastapada who wrote a bha!?ya (commentary) of the Vaisc-
- ka siUras cannot also unfortunately be ascertained. The pecu-
liarity of Prasastapada's bhaya is this that unlike other bhayas (which first give brief explanations of the text of the sutras and then continue to elaborate independent explanations by explain- ing the first brief comments), it does not follow the sutras but is an independent dissertation based on their main contents I. There were two other bhayas on the Vaise#ka siUras, namely Riivala-blziiya and Bhariidviija-vrtti, but these are now probably lost. References to the former are found in K irm:liivalibhiiskara of Padmanabha Misra and also in Ratnaprabhii 2. 2. 1 I. Four commentaries were written on this bhaya, namely Vyomavati by V yomasekharacarya, NyiiyakaJldali by Srldhara, K irm.ziivali by Udayana (984 A.D.) and Liliivatiby Srlvatsacarya. In addition to these J agadISa Bhanacarya of N avadvlpa and Sailkara Misra wrote two other commentaries on the PrasastaPiida-bhii.ifa, namely Blzii-fyasitkti and Kafjtida-ralzasya. Sailkara Misra (1425 A.D.) also wrote a commentary on the Vaise#ka siUras called the Upaskiira. Of these Nyiiya-kalldali of Srldhara on account of its simplicity of style and elaborate nature of exposition is probably the best for a modern student of V aiseika. I ts author was a native of the village of Bhurisfti in Bengal (Ra<;Iha). His father's name was Baladeva and mother's name was Acchoka and he wrote his work in 913 Saka era (990 A.D.) as he himself writes at the end of his work. The Nyiiya szttra was written by Akapada or Gautama, and the earliest commentary on it written by Vatsyayana is known as the V iitsyiiyal11l-blulifa. The date of Vatsyayana has not 1 The bha!?ya of Prasastapada can hardly be called a bhaya (elaborate commen- tary). He himself makes no such claim and calls his work a compendium of the properties of the categories (Padiirthadharmasa 1 !lgraha). He takes the categories of dravya, gllza, karma, SiillUill)'a, 7Jife!a and samaviiya in order and without raising any discussions plainly narrates what he has got to say on them. Some of the doctrines which are important in later Nyaya- Vaise!?ika discussions, such as the doctrine of creation and dissolution, doctrine of number, the theory that the number of atoms contributes to the atomic measure of the molecules, the doctrine of pilupiika in con- nection with the transformation of colours by heat occur in his narration for the first time as the Vaife!ika siilras are silent on these points. It is difficult to ascertain his date definitely; he is the earliest writer on Vaise!iiika available to us after KaQada and it is not improbable that he lived in the 5th or 6th century A.D.
