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sound more than once. The reading of the Veda's three times or the fact of having the same letter B for more than once, does not mean that as a matter of fact we have the identical sound or identical group of sounds every time. What we actually have in these cases are but different sounds, although similar to a considerable extent. All these show that sounds and words are neither substantial nor eternal. Sound is an attribute attached to Ākāśa according to the Naiyāyika's.
But although the Nyāya thinkers join the Būddhist in criticising the Mimāṁsā theory of the eternity and the substantiality of a word, they are opposed to the latter's doctrine that the word is unrelated to its object. The Naiyāyika's reject the Buddhist doctrine of Apoha. A word, they say, do not give rise to a negative Idea at its inception.
नन्वन्यापोहकृच्छन्दो युष्मत्पक्षेऽनुर्णितः । निषेधमात्रं नैवेह प्रतिभासेऽवगभ्यते॥
NYAYA CRITICISM OF THE BUDDHIST THEORY OF APOHA
We have a positive idea about its corresponding object as soon as we hear a word.
किन्तु गौर्गवयो हस्ती वृक्ष इत्यादि शव्दतः ।
fafaretoqerja afa: Troet gaat all If it be said that the word cow yields only a negative idea, then for the positive idea of the thing signified by the word we are to look for another word:
यदि गौरित्ययं शब्दः समर्थोऽन्यनिवर्तने ।
जनको गवि गर्गोवुद्ध मुंग्यतामपरो ध्वनिः ।। It cannot be said that the word which at its inception yields only a negative idea leads afterwards to the positive idea; for, it is always impossible to do contradictory things; a word cannot have both the senses, one negative and the other postitive.
NYĀYA CRITICISM OF DIGNĀGA'S VIEW
The celebrated Buddhist thinker, Dignāga contended
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