Pramana Laksanam- Nature and Definition of Knowledge and Its Means: Complete Works of Sri Madhvacarya the Sarvamula Grantha Series Commentary and Critical Study by P Vinayacharya (Volume - 4)

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Among the Prakarana-grantahs (independent treatises dealing with a particular concept of philosophy) of Sri Madhvacharya, the pramana- lakshana is a not so large a treatise, which is a handbook of epistemology ie. The science of knowledge and its means. As the great Acharya himself acknowledges, it is a work based on a hoary work called brahma-tarka which was available to Sri Madhvacharya. The pramana-lakshana is written in prose style detailing on the concepts of epistemology which is useful for philosophical deliberations and discussions as well. It is a terse, yet a work with utmost clarity of concepts related to epistemology.

Dr. P. Vinay (respectfully addressed as Vinayacharya as per the tradition), M.A, Vidwat (Dvaita Vedanta), Ph.D, D.litt., is an authority on the Dvaita School of Vedanta of Sri Madhvācārya. He has authored many original works in Sanskrit and English on Vedanta and other philosophical subjects. He is currently the assistant professor in the Department of Vedanta in Karnataka Samskrit University (KSU), Bangalore, India and also the Head of the Deparment of Vedanta. Dr.Vinayacharya is a streak of the intellectual lightning of the modern Indian philosophy scenario.

The Complete Works of Śrī Madhvācārya Series in English has received over- whelming response from academic circles, traditional scholars, modern thinkers and general readers as well. The volume 1, 2, and 3 which are the Tattva Sankhyana, Tattva Viveka and Kathalakşana have been very well received. The first book which was Tattva Sankhyana, related to ontology of reals and metaphysics of Reality was so well received that several reprints are testimony to the readers' appreciation of the same. The Tattva Viveka was the second work which appeared in series. It is a work related and similar in theme to the former Tattva Sankhyāna, enumerating ontology and metaphysics. Together with these, several subtle concepts like višeşa can be seen in this work. It is also a vindicating text to the former. The Kathälakşaņa, the treatise on the method of debate, was brought out as the third volume in the series. It was highly appreciated in the critical review and has a very detailed scholarly explanation of the concepts related to philosophical debates. The method and manner of debate has been neatly showcased in this work, but examples and references.

Philosophy is a science of understanding the sublime divinity in nature, as well as a practical art showcasing an ideal life to be led for the betterment of the world. The boundary of philosophy is literally boundless and encompasses any attempt to understand the nature and purpose of any aspect of life and nature. It is in this sense that philosophy has been acknowledged as an unrestricted universal science across the intellectual culture of the world. The Indian sub-continent saw giants of philosophy, both in terms of deep musings about the divine force within the microcosm as well as the all-pervading transcendent in the macrocosm. Although the sages of lore divined the sacred lore of the Impersonal Vedas by their inner eye as the tradition has it, there was a need for other expositions of philosophy of the Vedas, through the personal writing of great philosophers who nevertheless had the legacy of vedie lore in their inculcation. This manifested as philosophical works of great significance, be it allegorical-narrative, thematic, mystical and devotion, which left a permanent mark of fragrance.