Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c5.s5.6

c5.s5.6

In fact, Yudhiṣṭhira in his praise uses the exact terms from Nyāya philosophy to bring out the force of Bhīma’s argumentative discourse — *upapatti*, *āgama*, *anumāna* (inference), *āśaya* (implication), etc. “The *āgama* was not mutilated by the deliberate use of *anumāna* in your speech” — he says (II.28). The commentators understand *āgama* as *nīti* (good policy) only. However, *āgama* has a wider connotation in Bhāravi’s treatment of the qualities of good discourse. It is a paradigm for life.