advaita-siddhi 11 (Predicate logic formulation)

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Mon, 14 Feb 2000, Vivek Anand Ganesan wrote:

>   Thanks for the info.  I was not aware that logic was
> studied in the Classical form of learning.  I was only
> aware of the "nyaya" school.  Was formal logic part of the
> standard curriculum?

Yes, particularly in Bengal.  According to the short Sanskrit biography in
the introduction of my copy of the Gudarthadipika, Swami Madhusudan
Saraswati was known in his purvashram as Kamalanayana Mishra.  He came
from a family of Kanyakubja Brahmans who had settled in Bengal a century
or so prior to his birth.  He studied Navyanyaya in Navadvipa with
Mathuranatha Tarkavagisha.  His brother Yadavananda Tarkavagisha was also
considered one of the prominent Naiyayikas of his day.

In Gujarat it seems only those Brahmans who were going to become
"professional" priests, Pandits or the like had formal pathashala
educations (and even they usually had to go to Kashi or somewhere for
that.)  For people like my father, there were part-time after-school
pathashalas.  He remembers the one he went to was organized around the
study of the Ramayana of Shri Tulsidas.  As well as the systematic
memorization of that text, each week the Guruji would give some topic,
(e.g. Was Vibhishana justified in defecting to Shri Rama from his brother
Ravanas side.)  One of the boys would have to argue for, and one against,
and the rest would serve as the jury.  Although this wasn't the same as a
formal study of tarkashastra it shows the importance that was placed on
being able to think clearly if one wanted to understand Dharma properly.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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