Essay name: The Navya-Nyaya theory of Paksata (Study)
Author:
Kazuhiko Yamamoto
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages
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 鈥減aksa鈥� originally meant a subject or proposition but evolved to signify a key logical term, representing the subject of an inference or the locus of inference.
Section 1 - History and Development of the Concept of Paksata
16 (of 69)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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. PAKSA AS SUBJECT 21 Dignaga considered paksa as subject but he mainly considered
paksa as proposition. But his disciple Sankara Sv膩min (ca. AD
550)
1 defined paksa in his Nyayapravesa as:
The paksa is a recognized property-possessor which the
arguer wishes to prove to be qualified by a recognized
qualifier. (Trans. is of (Tachikawa 1971: 115))2
Sankara Sv膩min thought that desire is necessary to establish a
subject. This desire theory of subject (icchapaksa) 3 was held by
many Naiyayikas who succeeded him.
Uddyotakara (ca. AD 550-600) discusses paksa in detail in the
Nyayavarttika of the Nyayasutra 1. 1. 33. The concept of pak峁 for
Uddyotakara is quite different from Gautama sutra, for paksa had
already acquired a logical meaning in his age. Apart from the
usage of the term paksa by Gautama and Vatsyayana in the sense
"side", Uddyotakara developed paksa as the subject of
proposition. He critisized the usage of paksa by Dign膩ga.
is, Uddyotakara says that Dignaga should use pratij帽膩dosa
That
1.
(Vidyabhusana 1921: 302).
2. pak峁岣� prasiddho dharmi prasiddhavisesanavisistataya
svayam sadhyatvenepsitah. (Tachikawa 1971: 140).
3. Cf. (Bhattacharya, G. 1978: 78f.).
