The Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi is one of the chapters of Jitāri’s Vādasthānāni. Its first-time critical edition, presented in this paper, is based on two newly discovered manuscripts of the Vādasthānāni which make available the Sanskrit text of a total of twenty chapters on a wide range of philosophical topics. Fourteen of these chapters, including the Vijñap­timātratāsiddhi, were previously completely unknown and remain to be edited.
In the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi, Jitāri (fl. 940–1000) endeavors to establish the Yogācāra doctrine of the mere cognitive manifestation of objects and to refute the position of externalism, with a focus on the externalist opinion that the cognition does not possess the image of the object (nirākārajñānavāda). He begins the discussion with a proof formula to show that all things that become manifest in a cognition are nothing but cognition. This is followed by his refutation of various objections that the reason used in his proof formula is unestablished, contradictory or inconclusive. In order to refute the objection that the reason is inconclusive, Jitāri introduces a subordinate proof for-mula. After refuting the objections to this proof, Jitāri concludes that the reason used in the subordinate proof formula is conclusive, and therefore the main reason is also con-clusive. Thus, his main thesis that what becomes manifest in a cognition is cognition is to be accepted.