Indian Logic Part 03

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

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INDIAN LOGIC ‘adharma (= evil past-act)'. Contrasted to this Nyāya view and rejected are the following rival views :
(1) The Sankhya view that dharma is of the form of a vrtti of antahkarana
(2) The Jaina view that dharma is of the form of a type-ofphysical particles.
(3) The Buckthist view that dharma is of the form of an 'impression created in a mental series.
(4) The old Mimārsā view that dharma is of the form of an independent entity (called apūrva) produced by a Vedic ritual.
(5) Sabara's view that dharma is of the form of a Vedic ritual itself.
(6) The Prabhakarite's view that dharma is of the form of niyoga (= apūrva) which is what a Vedic injunction stands for..
The first three views are rejected because of their inevitable association with a wrong metaphysics, the fourth on the ground that here dharma becomes something hanging in the air, the fifth on the ground that dharma must be something that lasts till the expected result is actually reaped, the sixth on the ground that the concept of niyoga understood as the import of a Vedic injunction is faulty: 3
This is how Jayanta defends the efficacy of the cult of Vedic ritual and then goes on to defend the validity of each single Vedic utterance. In fact, however, even the above discussion on Vedic ritual has been undertaken in the context of answering the opponent's objection that Vedas preach a falsity. This objection has two sides - one saying that the Vedic injunctions pertaining to a ritual are often found not to be corroborated in actual practice, the other saying that certain Vedic statements are outright false; the first side we have already considered, the second we might consider now. Thus the opponent cites the Vedic statement to the effect that the dead person in relation to whom a death-rite has been performed goes to heaven equipped with the implements of a ritual; and his point is that this statement is false inasmuch as going to heaven equipped with the implements of a ritual is possible only on the part of the dead person's body while this body burns into ashes before our very eyes." Jayanta answers that this statement refers to the dead person's soul going to heaven while figuratively speaking as if this soul is one with the associated body (which was actually once equipped with the implements of a ritual), his another