Saṃyoga (Conjunction)

[Full title: 3. Vṛttiniyāmaka sambandha (Occurrent-Exacting relation) (1): Saṃyoga (Conjunction)]

Saṃyoga is the one kind of Vṛttiniyāmaka sambandha. It is a guṇa. The special cause the usage of two things as conjunct is known as Saṃyoga.^[1] In the Dīpikā, Annaṃbhaṭṭa clarifies that when there is the usage in the form that these two things are conjoined then the special cause of this usage is called saṃyoga.^[2] In the Dīpikā, we find that the word ‘special cause’ is added in this definition of saṃyoga to remove the defect of ativyāpti in case of space, time, number etc.^[3]

He mentions two types of saṃyoga,

1. karmaja and
2. saṃyogaja.

The karmaja saṃyoga is arises when a book comes in contact with the hand because of the activity of the hand in taking a book. The saṃyogaja saṃyoga arises when as a result of the contact of the book with the hand, there is contact of the book with the body.^[4]

Karmaja saṃyoga is again divided into two kinds–

1. karmaja and
2. ubhayakarmaja.

The example of the anyatarakarmaja is that the conjunction of the bird with mountain. In this example, only the bird moves but the mountain remains static. The example of the ubhayakarmaja is that the conjunction of the flying birds. In this example both birds move.^[5]

Viśvanātha defines saṃyoga as the contact of two things which were first removed or separated from each other.^[6] That means conjunction is the relation between two separable (yutasiddha) things. Hence, there cannot be any conjunction between two all-pervading things which are never separate from each other. Thus, conjunction is the relation of two relata which can exist separately when they are not related. As saṃyoga is a quality, so there can be conjunction between two substances only and saṃyoga resides in both these substances. According to Viśvanātha, conjunction is of three types. Actually Viśvanātha has mentioned the two types of karmaja saṃyoga, discussed above, as two different kinds of saṃyoga itself. In this view, first type of saṃyoga is due to action in either of the two relata (anyatara karmaja); the second is due to action in both (ubhayakriyājanya) and third is due to conjunction (saṃyogaja). The example of the first is the contact of a bird with the mountain. The example of the second kind is the encounter of two fighting birds, where both move. The conjunction of a jar and a tree because of the conjunction of the one part of the jar and the tree is the third kind of conjunction.^[7]

According to Viśvanātha, karmaja saṃyoga is again of two kinds, viz.,

1. impact (abhighātā) and
2. contact (nodena).

Of these two the first is the case of sound, while the second is not the cause of sound.^[8]

Saṃyoga is a quality and it is avyāpyavṛtti (non-pervasive).^[9] That means it covers only a part of the things conjoined. But Dinesh Chandra Guha opines that saṃyoga may be vyāpyavṛtti also.

He says,

“This relation is generally known as a relation of incomplete occurrence (avyāpyavṛtti) because when a contact takes place between two substances (dravyas), it occurs only in a part of them, if of course, the two substances have got parts. But there may be instances in which a contact may be of complete occurrence (vyāpyavṛtti) also. As for example, in the case of contact between two atoms (paramāṇu) or between the mind and the soul or in similar other cases, the contact cannot be of incomplete occurrence, because, the atoms have got no parts or the soul also is considered partless. So also the mind in the Nyāya system is considered as having no part.”^[10]

From the point of Mathematical Logic, relation may be dyadic, triadic, etc. In Navya-Nyāya, a relation is usually dyadic, although there are other types of relation also. Saṃyoga is dyadic when it happens between two dravyas. When a dravya becomes conjunction with two more dravyas, there may be triadic relation.

In the words of Guha:

“Mathematical Logic conceives relations as triadic etc. When A comes in contact with C through B. But in the above stated causes A and B simultaneously come in contact with C or A simultaneously comes in contact with B and C.”^[11]

In Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika terminology the first case may be described as A and B are saṃyoga pratiyogī (counter-correlate of saṃyoga) and C anuyogī (subjunctive). For the latter casse, A is pratiyogī and B and C are anuyogī of saṃyoga. There are two relations here–direct relation (sākṣāt sambandha) and indirect relation (parāpara sambandha). That is known as direct relation in which it directly comes in contact with two or more dravyas. On the other hand, that is called indirect relation in which relation happens among the component parts.

Vibhāga is the opposite of saṃyoga. Annaṃbhaṭṭa defines it as the destroyer of the conjunction.^[12]

It has also two kinds-

1. karmaja and
2. vibhāgaja.

Karmaja is the separation of a book from the hand. Vibhāgaja is the separation of the book from the body because of the disjunction of the book from the hand.^[13] Moreover karmaja is divided into two types - anyatarakarmaja and ubhayakarmaja. It is anyatarakarmaja in which disjunction is caused due to the action of one of the two things. For example, disjunction of a bird from the constant tree, ubhayakarmaja is that in which disjunction is caused because of the action of the both things e.g., two flying birds.^[14]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

saṃyuktavyavahārahetuḥ saṃyogaḥ. Tarkasaṃgraha, p. 18

[2]:

Dīpikā on Ibid.

[3]:

Ibid., pp. 18-19

[4]:

Ibid.

[5]:

cf. Tarkasaṃgraha, p. 165

[6]:

Bhāṣāpariccheda, p. 207

[7]:

Ibid., pp. 207-208

[8]:

Ibid.

[9]:

Dīpikā on Tarkasaṃgraha, p. 18

[10]:

Navya-Nyāya System of Logic, p.59

[11]:

Ibid., p. 60

[12]:

Dīpikā on Tarkasaṃgraha, p. 18

[13]:

ādyo hastakriyayā hastapustakavibhāgaḥ. dvitīyo hastapustakavibhāgātkāyapustakavibhāgaḥ. Ibid, 19

[14]:

Sinha, J., Indian Philosophy, Vl. I., p.433