Much ado about nothing: Kumarila, Santaraksita, and Dharmakirti on the cognition of non-being

Birgit Kellner's translation and study of the Abhavavicara section of Santa raksita's Tattvasangraha, while historically sophisticated and philological ly sound, ignores the broader philosophical significance of the problem of the cognition of non-being (abhava) in classical Indian philosophy.In this review article, I attempt primarily to rectify that deficiency, while at th e same time showing how a clear grasp of the philosophical issues leads, in certain instances, to a more correct understanding of the texts. I also ad dress the matter, raised by Kellner in relation to the apparent critique of Dharmakirti's theory of anupalabdhi by Kumarila, of the historical relatio n of Kumarila and Dharmakirti.