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In hinduism, advaita propounds the doctrine of two truths - vyavahArika satya and paramArthika satya.

However, long before Shankara (8th - 9th century CE) , the foremost exponent of advaita, the mAdhyamika buddhist philosopher nAgArjuna (2nd - 3rd century CE) propounds the doctrine of two truths - samvRti satya and paramArtha satya.

Is there any explicit reference to any two truths doctrine in hindu/vedic/smriti/commentary/grammar sources before the time of nAgArjuna? I am looking for explicit references and not vague statements that can be interpreted in multiple ways.

I do not want to go into whether advaita's two truths are same or different from that of mAdhyamika buddhism. I just want to know if there is(are) any hindu source(s) before nAgArjuna, that talks of any sort of two truths - whatever those two truths may mean.

PS: Please dont quote some obscure "upanishads" (not quoted by Shankara or his contemporaries) or post-Shankaran advaitic sources. The sources that I am looking for, must be pre-nAgArjuna. Also, please dont quote statements from upanishads like - brahman has two aspects, x and y, satyam cha anrtam cha satyam abhavat, yatra hi dvaitam iva bhavati...., vacharambhanam vikaro namadheyam.... I am not looking for these kinds of statements. These statements can have multiple interpretations. Thank you for understanding.

EDIT: My question is not duplicate because my question is specific to scriptures which are pre-nAgArjuna. Also I am looking for explicit references to the two truths doctrine. Not some vague references which can be interpreted in multiple ways.

  • Your statement - sources that I am looking for, must be pre-nAgArjuna, may not be correct. As per one school of thought, Sri Sankara belongs to 500 BCE. Nagarjuna belongs to 2 - 3 AD. Then it amounts to Nagarjuna drawing inspiration from Sri Sanaa. Please check. @Lazy Lubber – Srimannarayana K V Nov 04 '19 at 13:58
  • You can go through the article (http://ramchandrakamath.blogspot.com/2011/03/year-of-birth-of-adi-shankaracharya-509.html?m=1) @Lazy Lubber – Srimannarayana K V Nov 04 '19 at 14:06
  • @srimannarayanakv Regarding date of Shankara, please see advaita vedanta home page - https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/dating-Sankara.html There are lot of difficulties with the 500 BCE date. Shankara also criticizes Shunyavada, which was first propounded by Nagarjuna, so Shankara cannot be earlier than Nagarjuna. –  Nov 04 '19 at 14:17
  • There is problem with literature available in the name of Sri Sankara, regarding which many believe that they were attributed to him by later day scholars. Anyway, it is your question and your choice :-)@Lazy Lubber – Srimannarayana K V Nov 04 '19 at 14:26
  • @srimannarayanakv I am aware of that problem. But Shankara criticizes Shunyavada in his Brahmasutra bhashya - which is universally attributed to Shankara. In fact, Shankara, by definition, is taken as the author of the Brahmasutra bhashya, which goes under his name. –  Nov 04 '19 at 14:32
  • Do you mean Vyavaharika and paramarthika levels? – Sarvabhouma Nov 05 '19 at 05:52
  • @Sarvabhouma Yes levels or truths. Satya is sanskrit word, that is used. –  Nov 05 '19 at 06:43
  • Perhaps the question is already asked Which scriptures defines the three levels of reality? – Sarvabhouma Nov 05 '19 at 06:45
  • @Sarvabhouma The answer is not satisfactory to me for 2 reasons. 1. It talks about "implicit" mentioning of 2 levels. This is subjective. 2. Whether the Mandukya upanishad is pre-nagarjuna, is unknown. It is interesting to note that the upanishad always come with first chapter of Gaudapada karika. For some strange reason, Shankara does not even quote it in his BSB, though there is a commentary that goes under his name, on the upanishad. Some statements of this upanishad, have similarities with nagarjuna's works. What I am looking for, is an explicit mention of 2 truths doctrine. –  Nov 05 '19 at 07:22
  • @Sarvabhouma I explained in the edit, why this question is not a duplicate. –  Nov 27 '19 at 13:36
  • Your above comment says otherwise. You said it is the same question but the answer is not satisfactory. If the answer is not satisfactory, offer a bounty asking for new answers. But please do not ask the same question because you are not satisfactory with the answers. – Sarvabhouma Nov 27 '19 at 13:40
  • @Sarvabhouma "You said it is the same question". Please show my statement saying that this is the same question. I only said that the answer is not satisfactory. I also mentioned in bold even before you tried to mark it as duplicate that I am looking for pre-nagarjuna sources and explicit references and not vague statements. –  Nov 27 '19 at 13:43
  • Then please put a bounty on the question. That's the standard procedure. Since you also ask about the three levels of reality, the question has been already asked. – Sarvabhouma Nov 27 '19 at 13:49
  • @Sarvabhouma No, I am not going to put a bounty on the question. I disagree with you that the question is duplicate. If you want to mark it as duplicate, go ahead. –  Nov 27 '19 at 13:51

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