Pralaya
or laya
(Skt., ‘dissolution’). The Hindu understanding that all appearance is subject, not to destruction, but dissolution—leading to re-creation. It is especially used of the ending of a
kalpa
(cosmic cycle).
Pram
a
(Skt., ‘measure’, ‘authority’).
1
In Hinduism, proof, the means for attaining true knowledge.
2
In Buddhism generally, a school of thought established by Dign
ga. In its more technical sense, however, pram
a refers to differing means of knowledge.
The Pram
a school appears to have centred on N
land
; its other important exponent, a pupil of Dign
ga, was
Dharmak
rti
. The works of both authors are still studied by Tibetan Buddhists.