Abstract:

The term sahopalambhaniyama, necessary/invariable co-apprehension, is related to a pivotal argument within the Dharmakīrtian tradition intended to prove mere-cognition (vijñaptimātratā), in the specific sense of the non-difference between a cognition and its object. The locus classicus for such an argument is in Pramāṇaviniścaya 1.54ab by Dharmakīrti. In that work, the sahopalambhaniyama is also related to the establishment of self-awareness of cognitions, insofar as they are verily devoid of an object and a subject. At the same time, some of the debates occurring in the 8th century seem to suggest at least the possibility of interpreting it in different ways. My paper aims at discussing some of the points emerging from an analysis of the Pramāṇaviniścaya itself, as well as the perspectives from the *Bāhyārthasiddhikārikā by Śubhagupta and the Tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā by Kamalaśīla.