Tarka sastra (,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: , ) is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

term for the philosophy of

dialectics Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

and

reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

, and art of

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

that analyzes the nature and source of

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

and its

validity Validity or Valid may refer to: Science/mathematics/statistics: * Validity (logic), a property of a logical argument * Scientific: ** Internal validity, the validity of causal inferences within scientific studies, usually based on experiments ** ...

. ''

Shastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...

'' in Sanskrit means that which gives teaching, instruction or command. ''Tarka'' means debate or an

argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectic ...

. According to one reckoning, there are six shastras.

Vyākaraṇa ''Vyākaraṇa'' (, ) refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, ancillary science connected with the Vedas, which are scriptures in Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vyakarana" in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen ...

is one of them. Four of the shastras are particularly important:

Mīmāṃsā ''Mīmāṁsā'' (Sanskrit: मीमांसा) is a Sanskrit word that means "reflection" or "critical investigation" and thus refers to a tradition of contemplation which reflected on the meanings of certain Vedic texts.

, Tarka, and

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

. Tarka shastra has concepts called ''

purva paksha Purva paksha, (पूर्व पक्ष) sometimes also transliterated as Poorva paksha, literally means ''former view/position''. It is a tradition in the debates of Indian Logicians. It involves building a deep familiarity with the opponent' ...

'' and ''apara paksha''. When one raises a point (purva paksha) the other party criticizes it (apara paksha). Then the debate starts. Each one tries to support his point of view by getting various references. The meaning of the word ''tarka'' also is specific, in that it does not imply a pure logical analysis but a complex activity of discourse guided by strict definitions and goals. '' Tarka-Sangraha'' is a foundational text followed as guidelines for logic and discourse ever since it was composed in the second half of 17th century CE. ''Tarka'' may be translated as "hypothetical argument". Tarka is the process of questioning and cross-questioning that leads to a particular conclusion. It is a form of supposition that can be used as an aid to the attainment of valid knowledge. There are several scholars renowned as well-versed in Tarka shastra:

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

(sixth century CE), Udyotakara (''Nyāyavārttika'', 6th–7th century), Vācaspati Miśra (''Tatparyatika'', 9th century),

Ramanujacharya Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...

(9th century),

Udayanacharya Udayana, (Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theo ...

(''Tātparyaparishuddhi'', 10th century),

Jayanta Bhatta Jayanta Bhatta ( CE – CE) was a Kashmiri poet, teacher, logician, and an advisor to King Sankaravarman. He was a philosopher of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy. He authored three works on Nyāya philosophy: one of which is not known ...

(''Nyāyamanjari'', 9th century),

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes Anglicisation, anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' ...

(13th century), Visvanatha (''Nyāyasūtravṛtti'', 17th century), Rādhāmohana Gosvāmī (''Nyāyasūtravivarana'', 18th century), and

Kumaran Asan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam ...

(1873–1924). Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri (1842–1911) and

Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar ( ta, சேங்காலிபுரம் அனந்தராம தீட்சிதர்; 2 August 1903 – 30 October 1969) was a Śrauti scholar and also was a great exponent of the art of ''upanyasas ...

(1903–1969) specialized in Vyākaraṇa, Mīmāṃsā and Tarka shastra.

Bibliography

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: * *

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

: *Krishna Jain (2011). ''Tarka-śāstra: eka rūpa-rekhā'' (Raj Verma Sinha, translator) 'A textbook of logic: an introduction'' Naī Dillī: Ḍī. Ke. Priṇṭavarlḍa. , , anguage: Hindi, translated from 2007 English original , , *Pavitra Kumāra Śarmā (2007). ''Tarka śāstra''. Jayapura: Haṃsā Prakāśana. anguage: Hindi*Gulābarāya. ''Tarka śāstra''. Kāśī: Nāgarīpracāriṇī Sabhā. anguage: Hindi(on Hindu logic) *George William Brown (1915). ''Hindi logic''. Jubbulpore: Christian Mission Press. anguage: Hindi

External links

Tarka Shastra - Shastra Nethralaya
{{Indian philosophy Hindu philosophical concepts Hermeneutics Ritual