Dear Colleagues,

Haribhadra (the Buddhist, not the more famous Jain scholar) states the following definition of vikalpa in his Ālokā:

vikalpo ’vastu-nirbhāsād visaṃvādād upaplava iti matiḥ.

(Wogihara 1932-1935, p.158).

It seems like this could be a quotation, and Wogihara suggests so by the typography. He does not, however, give any source as he does in other cases. Sparham, in his English translation, does not either. I haven’t been able to track this definition back to any text. Dharmakīrti, who would be my prime suspect, does not seem to have authored it.

Does anybody recognize this definition and can give me a lead? Or should I conclude that this is just Haribhadra’s own creation?

With many thanks in advance for your help,

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Pierre-Julien Harter

Assistant Professor

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Professor of Philosophy in Buddhist Studies
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico