Hetvābhāsodāharaṇa of Koḍuṅṅallūr Vidvān Iḷaya Tampurān

[Full title: Other Śāstrakāvyas (5): Hetvābhāsodāharaṇa of Koḍuṅṅallūr Vidvān Iḷaya Tampurān]

Hetvābhāsodāharaṇa is a Śāstrakāvya composed to illustrate Hetvābhāsas of Nyāyaśāstra. The text is written by Koḍuṅṅallūr Vidvān Iḷaya Tampurān (Godavarma) and the poem comprises ten verses. It forms most part of the poem gives invocations on Lord Rāma. It is also known as Hetvābhāsadaśaka.

Hetvābhāsas (fallacies or fallacious reasons) are not treated as reasons because they do not satisfy the definition of reason.

udāharaṇasādharmyātsādhyasādhanaṃ hetuḥ, tathā vaidharmyāt ||^[1]

Beginners of Indian logic cannot easily understand the importance and difference between the various fallacies. The Hetvābhāsadaśaka serves a good and useful purpose in thid direction as it contains good illustrations for the various fallacies in the form of stanzas that can be easily memorized.

Hetvābhāsadaśaka consists of ten stanzas that illustrate the five fallacies. The three kinds of non-conclusive type of fallacy (Anaikātika) are illustrated in the first three stanzas. The contradictory type (Viruddha) described in the fourth stanza. The counter balanced type (Satpratipakṣa) explained in the fifth, the three kinds of unproved reasons (Asiddha) in the next three and in the last, and the sublated (Bādhita) in the ninth.

The first verse of the poem is:

tvaṃ ruṣṭā mayi cennamāmi bhavatīṃ neyaṃ tvayā namyatāṃ namyatvaṃ tvayi bhāti pārthivatayā manye mahārājādivad |
kumbhādiṣvativartanāt tvaduditaṃ sādhāraṇaṃ sādhanaṃ vāgvādeṣviti nirjito dayitayā rāmaḥ sukhaṃ rātu vaḥ ||^[2]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Nyāyasūtra, I.I.34

[2]:

Hetvābhāsadaśaka, 1