The Navya-Nyaya theory of Paksata (Study)
by Kazuhiko Yamamoto | 1991 | 35,898 words
This essay studies the Navya-Nyaya theory of Paksata within Indian logic by exploring the Paksataprakarana on the Tattvacintamani of Gangesa Upadhyaya and the Didhiti of Raghunata Siromani. The term “paksa� originally meant a subject or proposition but evolved to signify a key logical term, representing the subject of an inference or the locus of i...
Text 8 (of the Paksata-prakarana on Tattvacintama-nididhiti)
TEXT-8: dhumenanuminuyam iticchayam alokaparamarsad asatyam api siddhau yadi nanumitis, tadanyamatra-1 lihgakanumiticcha kaminijijnasadivat prthak pratibandhika. VARIANT: 1. Paksata-prakarana reads tada tadanyamatra- for tadanyamatra-. TRANSLATION: When there arises a desire namely "I want to infer (fire) by smoke" and after that from the confirmatory cognition of a light, if there does not arise the inferential cognition of fire even if the fire is not known, then a desire of inferential cognition on the ground of another probans alone is to be accepted as an independent obstructing factor like a desire to have a woman.
an NOTES: Even if there is no cognition of probandum, inferential cognition does not arise in some cases such as when there is a desire "I want to infer a fire by smoke" after a confirmatory cognition which arises from a light. The that the smoke of desire is a different probans from the light of confirmatory cognition, therefore, therefore, that desire cannot be a cause is but an obstructing factor of the inferential cognition. Raghunatha explains it with an example of kaminijijnasa. The desire "I want to have a lovely woman" obstructs any knowledge to arise to that man to arise, therefore, kaminijijnasa is called an independent obstructing factor. The desire whose probans differs from a probans of confirmatory cognition is an independent obstructing factor. Here, matra means alone. In this case, an inferential cognition does not arise from smoke but it arises from both smoke and light. Therefore, Raghunatha added matra. Vide Kalipada Tarkacharya's commentary, i. e: ubhayalingakecchaya ti dhumenalokena va vahnyanumitir jayatam ity adilihgavikalpavisayinya icchayah, na tu dhumenalokena ca vahnyanumitir jayatam ity adilingasamuccayavisayinya icchaya 'ty arthah. (Tattvacintamani-didhiti-prakasa: 887, 21-23). Visvanatha cites Raghunatha's sentence as follows: dhumaparamarsasattya alokena vahnim anuminuyam iticchayam api nanumitih. (Nyayasiddhanta-muktavali: 251, 1 f.).