Indian Logic Part 02

Author(s): Nagin J Shah
Publisher: Sanskrit Sanskriti Granthmala

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the question whether the validity of a cognition is intrinsic Jayanta has to make transition to his discussion of the question whether God exists and to his discussion of the question whether a word is an eternal verity. This transition is made by way of arguing that a cognition born of verbal testimony is valid not intrinsically but only in case the speaker concerned is an authoritative person. More particularly it is argued that a Vedic testimony is valid because the author of Vedas is God. Hence the need for demonstrating the existence of God. Again, the Mimāṁsaka has argued that Vedic testimony is valid because Vedas are an authorless text existing since ever, and he has sought to buttress his argument by maintaining that all word is an eternal verity. Hence the need for demonstrating that a word is no eternal verity. Jayanta's demonstration of God's existence should not be dismissed off-hand. But as things stand, this demonstration is considerably fallacious. Regarding eternity of a word, according to the Mimāṁsaka when a letter is heard on two occasions it is one and the same letter that is made manifest twice. Jayanta tells him, "On your logic one can as well say that there exists one eternal cow, while two particular cows appear to be different because two different manifesting agents make manifest the one eternal cow." Jayanta is right in pointing out that this Mimāṁsaka view runs counter to his acceptance of the Nyāya-Vaiseșika theory of universal.
The two appendices-one on Dharmakīrti's theory of knowledge and the other on the conception of Isvara in the early Nyāya-Vaišeşika school-given at the end of the work enhance the value of the work as they critically expound two important topics.
Every care has been taken to see that the study is objective, authoritative and critical. The author will deem his labour repaid and
rewarded if the work succeeds in arousing the interest of its readers . in Indian logic.
Nagin J. Shah