Vol. 1, No. 10.] = Optimism in Ancient Nyayu. 251 
[N.S.] 
35. Optimism in Ancient Nyaya.—By VANAMALI VEDANTATIRTHA, 
In the interesting paper ‘‘A study of the Nyaya-Sttras,” 
which Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasada Sastri read in the 
Asiatic Society’s Meeting in November 1905, I was delighted to 
find him advocating, with very cogent arguments, that the original 
Nyaya-Sutras were not pessimistic. Nowadays Nyaya Philosophy 
means Nydyavaisesika, and the philosophic productions of the 
modern Naiyadyikas are really Vaisesika Philosophy in a Naiya- 
yika garb. The terminology and the method are Naiyayika, but 
the philosophy is, nevertheless, Vaisesika. Thus the pessi- 
mism of the modern Naiyayika is due not to his Nyaya, but to 
his Vaisgesika, from which he does not know how to distinguish 
his Nyaya. The well-known couplet 
qe Saas CW RMS AAS | 
aq antaat afa smatfa aera | 
makes the Vaisesika salvation consist in an unconscious, pleasure- 
less, painless existence. This is as it should be. But when 
Srihasa makes Gotama (otherwise called Aksapada) responsible 
for a pessimistic doctrine of salvation, he seems to have uncriti- 
cally stated the common opinion of his time. Says he— 
qaa & fraeats WeAy awa | 
° ~A VER EN 
Waa ana (a) 4 aut faw ava & | 
(Naisadha XVII., 75.) 
The following extracts from the Samksepa-Sankarajaya of 
Madhavacarya will substantiate the Sastri’s view. It shows 
that even the comparatively recent Madhava was not unacquain- 
ted with the fact that the Naiyayika salvation was really optimis- 
tic and included an element of pleasure, though it was vulgarly 
identified with the Vaisesika salvation, Whether the author 
was or was not the celebrated Madhavyacarya, the minister 
of the Bukka family of Vijaynagar, is immaterial to the argument. 
For what is contended here is that even in such a late production 
as the Saksepa Sankara-jaya, which professedly is an abstract 
of a larger life of Sankara, the Naiyayikas are credited with an 
optimistic view of salvation. 
aarty Faifaa Brand: RUMeyAIeCMANS 
qafata 3 wafaga atq fast aa aafa | 
Saat qoaFaat fafanitaanwaTs | 
qfamasiat aamaua ameedfaafeat faafa: | 
