Padarthadharmasamgraha and Nyayakandali
by Ganganatha Jha | 1915 | 250,428 words
The English translation of the Padarthadharmasamgraha of Prashastapada including the commentary called the Nyayakandali of Shridhara. Although the Padartha-dharma-sangraha is officially a commentary (bhashya) on the Vaisheshika-Sutra by Kanada, it is presented as an independent work on Vaisesika philosophy: It reorders and combines the original Sut...
Text 79
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 79:
रूपादीनां सर्वेषां गुणानां प्रत्येकमपरसामान्यसम्बन्धाद्रूपादिसंज्ञा भवन्ति ॥ ७९ ॥
rūpādīnāṃ sarveṣāṃ guṇānāṃ pratyekamaparasāmānyasambandhādrūpādisaṃjñā bhavanti || 79 ||
Text (79):—All the qualities, Colour and the rest, being each related to a lower generality, come to be named as ‘Colour’
Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.
(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)
The author now proceeds to point out the dissimilarity of each of the Qualities from another. Each of these Qualities is related to the Generality of ‘Colour’ &c., and as such they come to be known as ‘Colour’, ‘Taste’ &c. That is to say, the names ‘Colour,’ &c. constitute the point of dissimilarity of each of the qualities from the rest.
Some people hold that there is no such generality as ‘Colour’. But this is not right. Because as a matter of fact, we find that with regard to every one of the colours of blue, red and the like, there is a common notion of ‘Colour,’—every one of them being known as ‘Colour.’
Objection: “This common notion may be due to the common character of being perceptible by the eye.”
Reply: Not so; that these are ‘Colours’ is not perceived by the eye. If the notion of colour were due to the fact of their being perceptible by the Eye, then that notion would appear after their perception (while as a matter of fact, we find them known as Colours at all times.)
Objection: “What is meant by ‘perceptibility by the Eye’ is the capability of being comprehended by the Eye; and this capability continues to exist in Blue at all three points of time (past, present and future).”
Reply: That may be; but as for that capability too, if it were different with each individual Colour, then we could not have any such comprehensive notion of them all as ‘Colour’; as there would be no ground for any such comprehensive notion. And if that capability be held to be common to all colours, then there is only a difference in names (between our theory and yours).
The same argument holds as regards Taste and the other qualities.