By Swami Harshananda
Apadeśa literally means ‘that which is pointed out’.
In the Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika darśanas, the systems of logic, a five-membered syllogism is often resorted to, to prove a point. They are mentioned below :
- Pratijñā - Statement of assertion
- Hetu - Reason for the assertion
- Udāharaṇa - Example containing a universal proposition
- Upanaya - Application to the case on hand
- Nigamana - Conclusion
Out of these, hetu, the second one, is sometimes designated as ‘apadeśa.’
The syllogism can be illustrated in that order as follows :
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore