Vaisheshika admits of six philosophical cat-
egories, with a seventh controversial category
added later. The six original categories are (1)
substance, which consists of nine eternal realities
that compose the foundation of the universe; sub-
stance is divided into (a) “atoms” of each of the
five main elements or MAHABHUTAS and (b) time,
ether, space, and soul; (2) attribute, of which
there are 24; (3) karma, action or motion; (4)
samanya, “generality,” that which characterizes
all the members of a given class; (5) vishesha or
particularity, which distinguishes one member
of a class from another; and (6) samavaya, “rela-
tion,” or combination, that is, the relationship
that exists between substance and its qualities. A
seventh category, “non-existence” (abhava), was
added later to deal with certain philosophical dif-
ficulties of the system.
Most important in the system of Vaisheshika is
the understanding of the atomic nature of all the
elements. This philosophy was originally realist
and nontheistic in orientation. Only later was the
notion of God imputed to it.
Nyaya was founded by Gautama (or Gotama)
(c. 100 C.E.), who composed the Nyaya Sutra.
Other famous philosophers of the Nyaya school
are Vatsyayana and Gangesha. Nyaya can be
loosely translated as “logic” or “argumentation,”
which is indeed the central thrust of the Nyaya
tradition. Because it also had a strong realist bias,
it was easily merged with the earlier Vaisheshika
school.
Whereas the focus of Vaisheshika was the
nature of things and how to categorize them, the
focus of Nyaya is on the method of argument, syl-
logism, and the reliable means for knowing. The
syllogisms that Nyaya constructed were similar,
but not identical to those of Aristotle. Whatever
the similarities, Nyaya developed a rigorous philo-
sophical basis that makes it quite comparable to
Western analytical philosophy.
The school of Navya Nyaya, or New Nyaya,
that emerged in eastern India around the 14th
century was particularly sophisticated philosophi-
cally. Nyaya developed proofs of the existence of
God (which are not found in the Vaisheshika),
which compare quite well to those developed in
Christian theology. Though Nyaya-Vaisheshika
has very few adherents today, it developed philo-
sophical tools that all the other Hindu traditions
used. They were particularly useful in refuting the
heterodox Jains and Buddhists.Further reading: Kisor Kumar Chakrabarti, Classical
Indian Philosophy: The Nyaya Dualist Tradition (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1999); S. N. Dasgupta,
A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1 (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidass, 1975); Wilhelm Halbfass, On Being and What There
Is: Classical Vaisesika and the History of Indian Ontology
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).K 318 Nyaya-Vaisheshika