This project investigates theories of error in medieval Indian philosophy. At an everyday level, these theories deal with simple mistakes in perception—such as seeing a rope and thinking it is a snake. At the metaphysical level, however, they are used to explain how ignorance leads to fundamental misunderstandings about the nature of the universe. Theories of error are central to Indian epistemology and have sparked lively debates across nearly all philosophical schools and religious traditions in India over the centuries.
Early discussions remained unsystematic, but the philosopher Maṇḍana Miśra (ca. 660–720) brought clarity by creating the first comprehensive overview of these ideas. One of his treatises, the Vibhramaviveka, is devoted precisely to this topic. However, due to the problematic state of the text, serious scholarly engagement with it has been limited to only a few exceptions to date. Maṇḍana’s possibly final work, the Brahmasiddhi, also contains arguments parallel to and dependent on those in the Vibhramaviveka. By tracing the differences or continuities of his ideas across these works, and by comparing his writings with those of earlier and contemporary thinkers, the project aims to reconstruct how Maṇḍana developed his theory of error, most likely through active debates with various competent scholars, and how it fits into his broader philosophical outlook.
In particular, the following four issues are examined: (1) the reality of two views on error attributed to the Buddhists and their connection with early Buddhist logicians; (2) Maṇḍana’s philosophical standpoint and traditional affiliation; (3) how scriptural exegesis in the Brahmanical tradition can be linked to theories of error; and (4) the early history of concepts of fundamental error caused by ignorance, which hinders humans from understanding reality. Furthermore, because Buddhist philosophers—especially those following Dharmakīrti—strongly shaped early theories of error, the project will also examine the Sahopalambhaniyamasamarthana, a work by the 10th-century Buddhist scholar Jitāri. This will help clarify how Buddhist thought contributed to the broader development of error theory.
The goal of this project is to identify, as clearly as possible, the philosophers and texts that influenced Maṇḍana. It examines which ideas he adopted from each of them and shows what makes his thinking distinctive through his theory of error. In this way, the project also explains how individual thinkers can be placed within specific philosophical traditions. Ultimately, it clarifies how philosophical schools developed in medieval Indian intellectual history.
