Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c5.s16: Manuals on Vāda

c5.s16.1

Some of the texts cited here were written for a dual purpose, i.e. they deal with the theory of *vāda* and also aim at teaching the novices how to carry on a *vāda*. In *Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya* Śrīharṣa not only demolishes all the theories with a view to uphold Advaita Vedānta, he also visualizes his text as a manual for training in debate. He claims that even if the novices aspiring to learn the skills of *vāda* memorize some of the clichés as given in this text, they can confound the opponents in the debate.⁷⁷ He advises such aspirants to memorize the expressions and arguments from his texts and repeat them in the debate like a parrot. In Jaina tradition, texts like *Vādadvātriṁśikā*, *Syādvādaratnākara* of Devasūrin and *Syādvādamañjarī* are also manuals for the practitioners of *vāda*. *Hetuviḍambanopāya* displays skills in the employment of *hetu* (cause) as per the theory of *anumāna* for defeating an adversary in arguments. The methods for refutation as adopted by authors like Jayarāśi actually served as guidelines for later authors aspiring to contest with their opponents.⁷⁸