Text 122

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 122:

आम्नायविधात्qणाम् ऋषीणाम् अतीतानागतवर्तमानेष्वतीन्द्रियेष्वर्थेषु धर्मादिषु ग्रन्थोपनिबद्धेष्वनुपनिबद्धेषु चात्ममनसोः सम्योगाद् धर्मविशेषाच्च यत् प्रातिभं यथार्थनिवेदनं ज्ञानम् उत्पद्यते तदार्षम् इत्याचक्षते । तत् तु प्रस्तारेण देवर्षीणां कदाचिद् एव लौकिकानां यथा कन्यका ब्रवीति श्वो मे भाताऽऽगन्ति हृदयं मे कथयतीति ॥ १२२ ॥

āmnāyavidhātqṇām ṛṣīṇām atītānāgatavartamāneṣvatīndriyeṣvartheṣu dharmādiṣu granthopanibaddheṣvanupanibaddheṣu cātmamanasoḥ samyogād dharmaviśeṣācca yat prātibhaṃ yathārthanivedanaṃ jñānam utpadyate tadārṣam ityācakṣate | tat tu prastāreṇa devarṣīṇāṃ kadācid eva laukikānāṃ yathā kanyakā bravīti śvo me bhātā''ganti hṛdayaṃ me kathayatīti || 122 ||

Text (122): In the case of the sages whose acts are in full accordance with the Vedas, we find that from the contact, of the Soul and the mind, as aided by a peculiar virtue, there appears an intuitional cognition true in all its objective details,—with regard to objects past, present and future, as also to Dharma and other (supersensuous) objects, such as are spoken of in the scriptures, as well as those that are not so mentioned; and this intuitional cognition is called ‘Ārṣa’ or ‘sagic.’

This cognition as a rule belongs to the Divine Sages; and only in. rare instances to human beings also; as when we find a little girl saying ‘my heart tells me that my brother will come tomorrow.’

Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.

(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)

The author now proceeds to describe ‘sagic’ cognition. With regard to all objects, sensuous as well as super-sensuous, the sages have infallibly true intuitional cognitions, free from all doubt and mistake; and this is called ‘Ārṣa’ or ‘sagic.’

The name ‘pratibhā’ is given to that form of consciousness which appears (pratibhāti) independently of sense-organs and inferential indicatives. And the ‘aṇ’ affix in ‘prātibham’ has the reflexive sense; where ‘prātibha’ is equivalent to ‘pratibhā’

An objection having been raised as to there being no causal agency that could give rise to such a cognition, and as such its appearance being impossible, the author adds:—Aided by a peculiar virtue. Dharmaviśeṣa = the peculiar character of the virtue of the sages; this peculiar character being due to their special learning, austerities and meditation; and this is what produces in the sages an ‘intuitional’ consciousness.

This form of consciousness belongs as a rule only to the Divine Sages &c., &c. The case of the girl saying ‘my heart tells me that my brother will come to-morrow’ cannot be called one of ‘Doubtful cognition,’ as we do not find the two contradictory factors (necessary in all Doubt); nor can it be called a case of ‘mistaken cognition’; as it is found to turn out true.

Note.

This ‘intuitional cognition’ cannot but be regarded as valid and true. It has an objective that has areal existence; and being a valid form of cognition it must be regarded as a kind of ‘sense-perception,’ and not an independent Pramāṇa; it cannot be regarded as ‘inferential,’ as it is not produced by the cognition of any inferential indicatives; nor is it ‘verbal’; nor ‘analogical,’ not being based upon any form of similarity. Though it is not produced by any of the external sense-organs, yet we regard it as ‘sensuous,’ because it is produced directly by the Mind, which is as much a ‘sense-organ’ as any other organ of perception. (Page 107, Nyāyamañjari.)

The word prātibha has been translated as ‘intuitional,’ this latter word being taken in the. sense of ‘immediate,’ independently of such agencies of cognition as the external sense-organs, inferential indicatives, words and analogy or similarity.