The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

128 - Other Views on the Philosophical Systems
sciences or Śāstras are taken into consideration, these get reduced, for
the purposes of the particular Śāstra, to a smaller number. That seems
the only satisfactory way of accounting for the varying numbers of
the pramāṇas that we find in the different Śāstras. But in regard to
Vyāsa himself, the Professor is of opinion that probably he was not
Vyāsa Bādarāyaṇa, the author of the Brahma Sūtras.
Indian tradition seems to be uniform in regarding Vēdavyāsa as
actually the author of the Brahma Sūtras. No treatise of his on
pramāṇas has come down to us, but Vēdavyāsa is regarded as a
teacher, and it is just possible to believe he taught, as a necessary
preliminary Vaidika pramāṇas as such, and in the course of that
teaching [90] formulated ten pramāṇas. This position seems to find
confirmation in the passage quoted from the commentary Kāśika on
ṭi and Vēdavyāsa are
brought into connection. Vēdavyāsa is there indicated by the name
ṭi is there referred to as one
that followed him in point of time and as one that followed him in
ṭi was one that followed the
teaching of Pārāśarya Vyāsa coming later in point of time. It seems
therefore understandable that, on the general question of the
pramāṇas, Pārāśarya Vyāsa the teacher held ten such as acceptable,
while the comparatively late disciple elected to accept only eight of
his teacher’s, just as Jaimini, traditionally the pupil of Vyāsa, is said
similarly to have accepted only six. The whole position is merely one
of classification. While it is possible for one to regard some of these
as distinct enough for separate treatment, others may legitimately
hold that they are easily capable of inclusion in some of those already
considered.