Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c5.14

c5.14

Ānvīkṣikī or Nyāya⁶ has been singularly devoted to arguments and logic. Vijñāneśvara in his *Mitākṣarā* commentary on *Yājñavalkyasmṛti* (I.3) defines Nyāya as *tarkavidyā* (the system of learning based on arguments). But the tradition of *Nyāyadarśana* does not simply regard this *darśana* confined to logic and arguments only. It has been defined as a Pramāṇaśāstra as well as *adhyātmavidyā* both. Rightly does Udayana, one of the greatest Naiyāyikas or experts in *Nyāyadarśana*, give the title to his magnum opus as *Ātmatattvaviveka* (true knowledge of the Self) even though his treatise is mainly devoted to *vāda* (debate) with Buddhists.