Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s5.12

c6.s5.12

Even though the six systems — Vedānta, Mīmāṁsā, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṁkhya and Yoga — are said to be the Vedic *darśanas*, there are fundamental differences and issues for debate amongst them. One very crucial question is with regard to the validity of the means of knowledge (*pramāṇa*). Both the Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika systems uphold the principle of *parataḥ pramāṇa*, i.e. the validity of a *pramāṇa* is to be ascertained by a source other than the *pramāṇa* itself. Jaimini on the other hand, postulated *svataḥ prāmāṇya* — the theory of holding that a *pramāṇa* does not require its validation from an external source, it is valid by itself. These two opposite views create a situation of a neck-to-neck fight between the Nyāya and Mīmāṁsā systems. To the Vaiśeṣika and Naiyāyika, even the authority of the scriptures is not to be considered as something independent and irreducible, it has to be established through inference. To the Mīmāṁsaka, the Veda is eternal — not created by any conscious being — divine or human, and does not require validation.