pramāṇa-prameya-saṃśaya-prayojana-dṛṣṭānta-siddhānta-avayava-tarka-nirṇaya-vāda-jalpa-vitaṇḍā-hetvâbhāsa-cchala-jāti-nigrahasthānānāṃ tattva-jñānān niḥśreyasâdhigamaḥ || NyāSū 1.1.1 ||
Very, very loosely:
"Supreme happiness is obtained by the knowledge of the reality [lit., the 'that-ness'] of (1) the sources of knowledge, (2) the objects of knowledge, (3) doubt, (4) purpose, (5) example, (6) previously established principles, (7) the components of the syllogism, (8) hypothetical reasoning, (9) resolution, (10) truth-seeking debate, (11) argument for the sake of winning, (12) pointless arguing, (13) false reasons, (14) deceit, (15) sophistry, and (16) points of refutation."
Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana begins his commentary, the Nyāyasūtrabhāṣya, by briefly defining these sixteen categories and by looking at the purpose of ānvīkṣiki, translatable as "critical inquiry", "the science of logic", or perhaps simply "rationality". He says a lot of interesting things that I will go into at a later date, but for now, I'm most intrigued by the verse with which he concludes his discussion of NyāSū 1.1.1:
pradīpaḥ sarva-vidyānām upāyaḥ sarva-karmaṇām |
āśrayaḥ sarva-dharmāṇāṃ vidyôddeśe prakīrtitā ||
Loosely:
"The lamp of all sciences, the means of all actions, the basis of all religions—[critical inquiry] in the investigation of science is laudable."
But this verse is not his own. Its origin: Chapter 2, ānvīkṣikī-sthāpanā "The Establishment of Critical Inquiry", Book 1, vidyā-samuddeśa, "The Ascertainment of the Sciences" of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya.
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