iv Gardapada-Karika All this shows that Gaudapāda's work at any rate was fairly known to authors and commentators and he was referred to in terms of respect (though not by name ). Gaudapăda seems to be a nickname and not a proper name, are being used to show respect; and Gauda apparently refers to the Gauda territory where the Karikas were written and where their author became famous. Bhávaviveka ( 500 A. D.), in his commentary तर्कज्वाला on his own work मध्यप्रकदुदयकारिका, quotes four passages which closely resemble G. Kárikas. Šāntiraksita ( 700 A. D.) in his मध्यमकालङ्कार कारिका quotes about ten G. Karikas in connection with the औपनिषद views, which are called उपनिषदशास्त्र by Kamalasila, disciple of Šantirakṣita. Gaudapāda in all probability cannot thus be later than soo A. D. The Karikās of Gaudapāda show more than a similarity of thought and expression with the Mülamadhyamakarikās of Nagarjuna ( whose date is accepted as circa third century A. D.) and with Catuhsataka of Aryadeva who was the disciple of Nāgārjuna. The Karikās of Gaudapāda are indebted a lot to the Bhagavad- gita, and if we believe in the genuine nature of the bhasya by Gaudapāda on the Sankhyakārikās of īśvarakışņa (circa 2nd century), it is clear that the date of Gauda pāda must be somewhere between 300 to 500 A. D. Alberuni ( 11th century A D. ) ( pp. 131-2, Alberuni's India ) says-,.. the Hindus have books about the jurisprudence of their religion, on theosophy, on ascetics, on the process of becoming god and seeking liberation from the world as, e. g. the book composed by Gauda the anchorite, which goes by his name ... Further on, Alberuni refers to the book Sāmkhya, composed by Kapila, the book of Patañjali, the book Nyayabhāşa composed by Kapila, the book Mimansa, composed by Jaimini, the book Lokayata, the book Agastyamata composed by Agastya, and the book Vişnu- dharma. It is clear that Alberuni mentions Gauda the anchorite as representing the Vedāntic doctrine first, because the Vedāntic philosophy was held in high estimation. Though we do not know even now anything about Nyayabbaşa of Kapila or Agastyamata by Agastya, we think there is no reason to doubt the existence of some
