The Navya-Nyāya System

The first work of Navya-Nyāya school is Tattvacintāmaṇi which was written by Gaṅgesa Upādhyāya in about 1200 A.D.^[1] Through this work he made the base of Navya-Nyāya in Mithilā.

D.C. Guha states that:

“This perhaps can more appropriately be said in regard to the Navya-Nyāya system of Logic which gradually flourished in India after Udayanācārya (1000 A.D.) and particularly at the time of Gaṅgeśopādhyāya, the illustrious author of Tattvacintāmaṇi”.^[2]

The Tattvacintāmaṇi is divided into four chapters–

1. pratyakṣa (perception),
2. anumāna (inference),
3. upamāna (comparison) and
4. śabda (verbal testimony).

These are the four means of valid knowledge accepted by Nyāya system. This work of Gaṅgeśa is of an epoch-making nature as it has started as if a Nava-yuga (new era) in the development of philosophy in India.

From the benedictory verse of the work, it appears that Gaṅgeśa was a devotee of Śiva whom he salutes at the very beginning.^[3] The author then discusses about the utility of an invocation of blessings (mangalavāda).

In his view,

“All polite people must observe the decorum of invoking blessings if they wish to bring their work to a successful completion.”^[4]

Next Gaṅgeśa discusses about the validity of knowledge. In this context he also deals with invalid knowledge and the Nyāya theory of anyathākhyāti. Gaṅgeśa has also elaborately discusses about perception–both ordinary (laukika) and extra-ordinary (alaukika). However, this work contains an exhaustive and elaborate discussion on inference, which is regarded as the foundation of modern logic. His discussion on anumāna attracted many scholars of Navadvīpa of Bengal and these scholars of Bengal have written many commentaries on anumāna (inference) portion of this work. They also wrote many independent treatise on śabda (verbal testimony) and anumāna (inference). Mention may be made of the commentaries of Raghunātha Śiromaṇi (1500 A.D.), Mathurā Bhattācārya (1580 A.D.), Jagadīśa Bhattācārya (1590 A.D.), Gadādhara Bhattācārya (1650 A.D.) etc.^[5] It was Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma, who introduced the study of Cintāmaṇi in Bengal in about 15^th century.^[6] Gradually this work became popular in Madras, Maharastra and Kasmir. After some years it became well-known in all over India.^[7]

Raghunātha Śiromaṇi is regarded as the second great figure of Navya-Nyāya school, whose commentary on Tattvacintāmaṇi is called Dīdhiti. He also wrote a short treatise named Padārthatattvanirūpaṇa. Two other famous writers, viz. Mathurānātha Tarkavāgīśa and Jagadīśa Bhattācārya commented on Raghunātha Śiromaṇi’s commentary. These are Tattvacintāmaṇidīdhitirahasya and Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā. The former belonged to the end of the 16^th century A.D. and the later to the beginning of the 17^th century A.D.^[8]

Jayadeva wrote an important work named Āloka, a commentary on Tattvacintāmaṇi in about 13^th century A.D. Śaktivāda of Gadādhara Bhaṭṭācārya is another Navya-Nyāya treatise. The subtlety of this system is found in the Gadādhara Bhaṭṭācārya’s commentary which is written on Śiromaṇi’s commentary.

The Navya-Nyāya system evolved a special kind of language which is different from language used in Sanskrit literature. The new language used in Sanskrit logicians made it perfect and useful for all branches of Sanskrit study. The technique of this system is different from the earlier works. It is excellent and incomparable. The famous features of it are the appropriate and extreme thoroughness of analysis. The development of this system becomes on behalf of its own technique of interpretation.

In the words of Guha,

“The super excellence of the technique of Navya-Nyāya is clearly borne out by the fact that the whole of India spontaneously accepted this technique as the instrument par excellence to give expression to any subtle idea that might have occurred in the minds of the scholars of any branch of Sanskrit study.”

^[9] All other schools of Indian Philosophy like the Grammarian school of Paṇini and others, the modern Vedānta, the modern system of law and theology of Bengal, the modern criticism and dissertations on literature, the modern Mīmāṃsā etc. follow the Navya-Nyāya technique. The literature of this system is very vast.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Dasgupta, Surendranath, A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1, p. 308

[2]:

Guha, D.C., Navya-Nyāya System of Logic, p.1.

[3]:

guṇātīto’pīśastriguṇasacivastyakṣaramayastrimūrttiryaḥ sṛṣṭi sthitivilayakarmāṇi tanute/ kṛpāpārāvāraḥ paramagatirekastrijagatāṃ namastasmai kasmaicidamitamahimne purabhide// Tattvacintāmaṇi, p.1.

[4]:

Vidyabhusana, S.C., A History of Indian Logic, p. 408

[5]:

Dasgupta, Surendranath, A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1, p. 308

[6]:

Vidyabhusana, S.C., A History of Indian Logic, p. 405

[7]:

Ibid

[8]:

cf. Shastri, D.N., The Philosophy of Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika and Its Conflict with the Buddhist Dignāga School, p. 122

[9]:

Guha, D.C., Navya-Nyāya System of Logic, p. 1.