By Swami Harshananda
Pratyāmnāya literally means ‘restatement,’ ‘that which comes in its place’.
This is a technical word used in two senses.
- In logic, it is used in the sense of re-asserting the pratijñā or the original statement when the same is doubted or objected to.
- In the dharmaśāstras, it is used to indicate a substitute when the original rite cannot be done. For instance, when a particular expiation cannot be performed by the transgressor, another which is a simpler or easier one, is prescribed. If the sinner is unable to donate a cow as expiation for a sin, he is permitted to pay some gold coins as prescribed. This is called pratyāmnāya.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore