Being Is Relating: Continuity-in-Change in the Sambandhasiddhi of Utpaladeva

Relation-theories—theories on the metaphysical status of relations—have for some time stood at center disputes between realism and idealism. To such disputes, this paper contributes insights from an understudied premodern source, Sambandhasiddhi (Proof Relation). Its author Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 C.E.) is ?aiva philosopher India best known as innovator in Pratyabhijñ? (Doctrine Recognition) school Kashmiri ?aivism. This lesser-known late text shows deploying even more explicitly Bhart?harian grammatical view reality than he had previously. He argues against his chief rival predecessor, Buddhist epistemologist, Dharmak?rti 6th or 7th C.E.), while modifying latter’s epistemic idealism to objective differs Utpaladeva’s prior works its sustained attack Dharmak?rti’s nominalism citation Buddhist’s own writings. The accordingly offers interesting glimpse a treatment relations, topic that important arguments, but considered perhaps not sufficiently developed, so warrant separate treatment. A few brief comments are also offered how relation-theory might fit alongside Russell’s with Bradley over affinity Peircean semiosis.