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Studies in Indian Philosophy
With this background, let us now consider how Advaitins, mainly Śankara and Sureśvara, use reasoning by anvaya and vyatireka in connection with their teaching. Sureśvara speaks of removing words from utterances and thereby knowing, through anvaya and vyatireka, the meanings of words used in normal communication, so that one knows the meaning of an utterance upon hearing it. 8 This obviously refers to the procedure outlined above in connection with (3)–(4). Sankara also knows of reasoning from (1) to draw conclusions and that such conclusions can be refuted by showing that (2a) or (26) holds. Indeed, he formuiates (la, b) explicitly (see note 3). Not unexpectedly, he also mentions reasoning from anvaya and vyatireka in connection with terms and their meanings. Thus the word order of
(7) acqafe You are that one.' (Chāndogyopanişad 6.8.7 et sec.) is defended against an objection. It is usual in speech that a word comes first in a sentence if it denotes something known, in connection with which something is predicated or taught, and that there follow words which give the predication or teaching. However, in (7) this is reversed : tvam 'you' comes second, though it refers to someone (svetaketu) who is taught that he is that ( tad ) ultimate being spoken of earlier. Against this objection, Sarkara notes that there is no such restriction for Vedic utterances. The way words are to be construed is a function of their meanings. For one remembers the meanings of words one hears used in an utterance, so that the meaning of a sentence is understood through anvaya and vyatireka.. No one can perceive the meaning of a sentence unless he recalls upon hearing it the meanings of the words in that sentence. Hence, anvaya and Vyatireka are invoked, to allow this recall of word meanings.14 That is, by reasoning from anvaya and vyatireka as described, one can determine that given terms have certain meanings and not others, and these meanings are recalled when one hears these terms used in an utterance, so that one understands the meaning of the utterance.
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