Buddhist View re. Eternity of the Vedas
Summary
Chatterjee examines the Buddhist critique of the claim that the Vedas are eternal, authorless scriptures. He first outlines the orthodox Hindu argument that the Vedas exist outside time and were not composed by humans. Buddhist philosophers, drawing on the doctrine that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent, refuted this claim. They argued that language arises dependent on convention and cannot exist independently of causes. The article surveys debates recorded in works such as the Sabhāparvan and the writings of Nāgārjuna and Dharmakīrti, who contended that if the Vedas were eternal they would be meaningless, since meaning relies on context and usage. Chatterjee also notes that Buddhists rejected reliance on revelation in favour of experience and reasoning. The article concludes that the Buddhist challenge to Vedic eternality stimulated deeper reflection among Hindu thinkers and contributed to the evolution of Indian hermeneutics.
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Conclusion
The author concludes that the Buddhist refutation of Vedic eternity underscores the tradition’s rationalist approach. By questioning scriptural infallibility, Buddhists encouraged debate and critical inquiry, which ultimately enriched philosophical discourse in India.