Raghunath Shiromani

Raghunath Shiromani (15th-16th century) Sanskrit scholar and Ny'a'ya philosopher, was born in the village of Panchakhanda in sylhet district. He is believed to have been a classmate of Chaitanyadev. Navya Nyaya is divided into three periods: I) Pre-Shiromani, (2) Shiromani and (3) Post-Shiromani.

Raghunath studied the sh'a'stras under Pundit basudev sarvabhauma and got lessons on Navya Nyaya from Pundit Paksadhar Misra, an eminent logician of Mithila. After completing his studies, Raghunath started teaching Nyaya Sastra, gradually becoming famous throughout India. It is believed that he defeated Paksadhar in a debate and established Navadvip as the principal centre for studying Navya Nyaya.

Raghunath wrote forty books, including commentaries. His commentary Tattva-chint'a'ma'n'i-d'i'dhiti is very famous and considered essential for the study of Navya Nyaya. His other famous works include Pratyak's'ama'n'i-d'i'dhiti, Anum'a'na-d'i'dhiti, Pad'a'rtha-kha'n'dana, Dravyakira'na'val'i, Prak'a'shad'i'dhiti, Gu'n'akira'na'val'i'-d'i'dhiti, A'tmatattva-viveka-d'i'dhiti, Ny'a'ya-l'i'l'a'vat'i'-prak'a'sha-d'i'dhiti, Krtisadhyanumanadidhiti, and V'a'japeyav'a'da. [Kanailal Ray] [Ray, Kanailal Professor of Linguistics, Rajshahi University]