Book Title: Facets of Jain Philosophy Religion and Culture
Author(s): Shreechand Rampuriya, Ashwini Kumar, T M Dak, Anil Dutt Mishra
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati
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Anekāntavāda : The Principal Jaina Contribution of Logic 47
or etymologically underived (avyutpanna), certainly, do not base on etymology their distinction of the meaning of one word from that of another, but they too hold that words mean different things according as they possess different attributes (dharma) in the form of gender, person, tense, etc. This type of distinguishing the meaning of one word from that of another is called sabda-naya or samprata-naya. On the other hand, those grammarians who regard all words as etymologically derived (vyutpanna) posit distinction between the meanings of even such words as are generally admitted to be synonymous ; this view, according to which (for example) the synonyms like “sakra', 'indra', etc. have different meanings, is called samabhirūdha-naya. Lastly, there is a view according to which a word applies to a thing not in case this thing sometimes satisfies the etymology of the word in question, but only in case this thing is for the time being satisfying this etymology. This view is called evambhūta-naya. Apart from these six logical nayas there is a seventh called naigama-naya. 'Nigama' literally means local convention (desa-rüdhi), and this seventh naya stands for the view which includes in accordance with local conventions—all kinds of doctrines of distinction and the doctrines of non-distinction. These are the seven chief, (not all) nayas, and, really and generally speaking, whatever understanding of things results from the adoption of one particular standpoint rather than any other is the naya corresponding to that standpoint.
The Jaina texts also speak of the two nayas called dravyárthika-naya and paryāyarthika-naya ; however, these are not something over and above the abovementioned seven nayas but a mere broad classification (samkşipta vargikarana) of and an introductory ground (bhumika) to these very seven nayas. Dravyarthika-naya is that line of thought which takes 'substance' (dravya) into account, that is, which takes into account what is general (sāmänya), common (anvaya), non-distinctive (abheda) or unitary (ekatva) about things. The nayas called naigama, samgraha and vyavahara are comprised with dravyärthika-naya. Of these, samgraha-naya, inasmuch as it takes note of pure non-distinction, is
4. E.g. 'go'--the Sanskrit word for cow-means that which moves'. Hence on this
view, a cow cannot be called 'go' when it is not actually in motion. Tr. 5. More literally, 'naigama-naya' may mean understanding based on the convention of
the market-place. Really speaking, it is not a considered conviction concerning the nature of things but just an uncritical acceptance of whatever views are offered as and when occasion arises. There is also another interpretation of the word *naigama-naya', but that is not relevant in the present context. Tr.
