Did any Buddhist philosophers respond to Udayanacharya’s refutations of Buddhist doctrines?
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It is commonly claimed in Nyaya and Vedanta circles that Udayanacharya brought an end to the long-standing philosophical debate between Buddhist thinkers and Vaidika traditions. His works, such as Kusumanjali, Atmatattva Viveka, and Nyaya Vartika Tatparya Parishuddhi, are said to have decisively refuted core Buddhist doctrines like shunyavada, kshanikavada, and vigyanavada.
A Traditionalist Vedantin author summarizes this viewpoint as follows:
> **"Dharmkirti who is well known for his scholarly works, criticized
> nyaya doctrines and Vartikam in his Work called “Praman -Vartika”.
> After Dharmkirti Buddhism went into decline, last work which was a
> considerable criticism was written by a Nalanda professor as
> “TatvaSangraha”. In This tatvaSangraha the writer had also tried to
> critize BhagvatPad Sankara’ views (verse 330-331).
>
> Vachaspati misra who was the knower of 12 darshanas, He wrote Nyaya
> Vartika Tatparya tika and answered the claims that were made till now
> in a very good manner. His refutations are Calm,deep and subtle.**
>
> **An unexpected refutation came from Kashmir and that was from Jayanta
> Bhatt. He wrote an independant commentary on NyayA suTras called
> “Nyaya Manjari” He established the authority of the Veda and refuted
> the buddhist doctrines mercilessly.** He has quoted everyone be it
> DharmaKirti, Dingnaga or Dharmottara.
>
> Bhasvarajna an other Kashmiri wrote ‘NyayaBhusana’. He criticized
> everyone from Nagarjuna till Prajnakara Gupta(writer of
> VartikaAlankara).
>
> Jayanta Has wrote a verse while refuting क्षणिकवाद which goes as
> follows :-
>
> **नास्त्यात्मा फलभोगमात्रमथ च स्वर्गाय चैत्यार्चनं , संस्काराः क्षणिकाः
> युगस्थितिभृतश्चैते विहाराः कृताः । सर्व शून्यमिदं वसूनि गुरवे देहीति
> चादिश्यते, बौद्धानां चरितं किमन्यदियती दम्भस्य भूमिः परा ॥**
>
> **You Bauddhas, hold that there is no soul, yet you construct caityas
> (towers) to enjoy pleasure in paradise after death; you say that
> everything is momentary, yet you build monasteries with the hope that
> they will last for centuries; and you say that the world is void, yet
> you teach that wealth should be given to spiritual guides. What a
> strange character the Bauddhas possess; they are verily a monument of
> conceit.**
>
> **JnanaSariMitra and his disciple RatnaKirti wrote some works answering
> Vachaspati and made last tries to save buddhist philosophy from the
> attacks of logicians.**
>
> **UdayanaCharya ended this debate with very strong logics.** He composed
> works as “Kusumanajali” “Atma Tatva Viveka” and “Nyaya Vartika
> Tatparya Parishuddhi” and refuted ShunyaVada,KshanikVada,VigyanVada.
>
> There are other works as Bauddha Dhikkara tika(sankara misra) and
> Bauddh dhikkar shiromani **but till then Buddhism became a history.**"
Source - The Literary debates between Buddhists and Vaidikas
Given this narrative, my question is the following:
Did any later Buddhist philosophers, either in India, Tibet, Nepal, or elsewhere, directly or indirectly respond to Udayanacharya's arguments? Are there surviving texts or commentaries that attempt to refute or answer his critiques of the Buddhist doctrines of no-self, momentariness, and emptiness?
Or did the Buddhist tradition leave Udayana's works unanswered, either due to historical decline or strategic neglect?
Any textual, historical, or scholastic leads would be much appreciated.
Asked by user30831
Jul 20, 2025, 11:20 AM
Last activity: Jul 23, 2025, 11:41 AM
Last activity: Jul 23, 2025, 11:41 AM