The word Nyāya has so many connotative facets in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages that one has to ascertian the exact connotation of Nyāya in the concerned work. Though Nyāya often means justice, it expresses many more meanings. Infact, Apte’s Dictionary has assigned the following twelve sets of meaning to this word.
(i) Method, manner (ii) Fitness, propriety (iii) Low, justice, Virtue, equity, righteousness. (iv) A law suit, (v) Judicial sentence, (vi) Policy, good government (vii) A popular maxim (viii) An opposite illustration, (ix) Vedic account. (x) A universal rule. (xi) System of Hindu philosophy founded by the sage Gautama. (xii) Syllogism-An epithet of Vișņu
The word is well-known in the sense of “the science of Logic”. It is also well-known as a group of words conveying some incidents or events, based on worldly dealings or experiences. Such group of words is also called a maxim or an adage. As it is strongly based on the behaviour of worldly beings, the word (maxim), the ultimate or the final word of which is Nyāya. It also conveys some special type of behaviour not only of the human being but also of the birds and animals. The maxim, thus fo.med, does not always directly indicate the pattern of behaviour, unless the pattern involved is expatiated. Thus many Nyāyas are properly understood by the references to the context of the anecdotes or events.
The Śāstras Sūtras are very brief and some what incomprehensible at the beginning. So also the maxims are brief, mostly embodied in one compound with vague or concealed incidents. The maxim can be reframed into a sentence with a slight change. Nyāya is connected with the group of words where in the Nyāya converts some incident into an adage. It is, however, endowed with some significance.
A Nyāya can be contrasted with an idiom. The Advance Oxford dictionary defines an idiom as a phrase or a sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit. The maxim or a Nyāya is the crystalization of some event or a legend. Buhler calls the Nyāya as the inferences from familiar utterances. The Oxford diction defines maxim as a saying that expresses a general truth or a rule of conduct. There are such maxims in English as well as in other languages but they are crystalized in Nyāya type phrases of Sanskrit. The Nyāyas are condensed legends, throwing light on the human behaviour (and that of other beings also). The Nyāyas permeates wide spheres of human beings, animals, trees and even inanimate objects. Some scholars have tried to collect as many maxims as possible and have given explanations, based on their usages in several Sanskrit works.
Colonel G.A. Jacob has collected Nyāyas which are (vii)
combined in one volume (the book is published by Niranjanā publishers and Book sellers, New Delhi, 1983). These Nyāyas are chosen from various fields including the S’astric works. They encompass different types of beliefs, principles or articles of faith, minor experiences, canons, deeds, crescendos, catechisms etc. They underline some popular legends prevalent in folklores which are surrounded with classical aura. As they are prudent in nature, they enrich the literature and give it a didactic tinge.
The Nyaya gives some suggested sense. Thus it might have been clear that a variety of experiences constitute the main story of the Nyaya or the maxim. In course of time, the experiences were crystalized in ever growing manner in the conversations, in different regions, different action-reaction plans. The efflorescence of human mind with all its glories and dark sides have shaped various maxims. Any maxim presupposes three stages-(i) the experience, (ii) couching the experience briefly in words and then (iii) casting searching light on human behaviour. The maxims, however, become impersonal. As such, they attain an abiding place in the human communications and in the folk literature too and then to the classical literature.
The next problem is the classification of the maxims under probable heads. Some broad method of classification is suggested by the author of the oldest anthology of the Nyayas-Bhuvanesalaukikanyāya sāhasrī.
ये चात्र लौकिकन्यायाः प्रोक्तास्तेषामुदाहृतिः । वेदान्तशास्त्रगा काचित् कचिच्च शब्दशास्त्रगंगा ॥६॥ काचिभ्यायानुगा काचिन्मीमांसा शास्त्र गा तथा । लौकिकोक्तिर्यथा तद्वत् प्रायः प्रोक्ताऽपरापिवा॥७॥ अर्थमात्रं क्वचित्तेषामर्धे स्पष्टे स्फुटं स्मृतम्। प्रायः सङ्क्षेपतः प्रोक्तं विस्तरादपि च क्वचित्॥८॥ (viii)
Thakura Datta Sharma, the editor of the works, has given an alphabetical list of all the Nyāyas at the beginning. He has tried to find out a common link in the body of the works, wherever possible, to cluster the Nyayas together. The book, printed in 1908, is the oldest printed collection of the Nyayas. The writer has exhaustively quoted from the Sanskrit literature including the Sūtras of Pāṇinī. He has cited lines containing some popular beliefs at some places e.g. कार्यात् कारणजन्मेतिन्याय:- in which the linesलता हि शैले- सरसि भवम् सरोजम्- पुष्पाणां प्रभवो वै ।
are quoted, though the original works in which their occurances are not traceable. Thus with a fine exegetical skill, Thakura Datta Sharma has enriched the selection.
Explanations of certain Nyāyas occurs in certain commentorial works but they are only incidental and cannot be designated as Nyāyakośas.
Nyāyakośa work which is now available is- fchifa A handful of popular maxims are published in three parts during the period 1900-1904. Jacob has explained in these tracts the maxims, quoting lines from the classical as well as from the Śāstric works. He has prepared an enlarged version during 1907-1911, in which the total number of Nyāyas was 484. I have considered this collection of the maxims as the most dependable one.
The next available work on the Nyāyas is the “Nyāyoktikośa”-published by Chavinath Mishra in 1978. They have been discussed in Sanskrit only.
Prof. Dr. R. Srihari, Retired Vice-Chancellor, Dravidian University, Kuppam-a well-known Telugu. Sanskrit scholar, has written a Nyayakośa in Telugu. It was published by Surabharati Samiti, Hyderabad in 1993. This work has been (ix)
of immense inspiration and help to me in the preparation of this work.
The work of Colonel Jacob was an ideal before me. I have adopted his discussion (with slight changes) in interpreting the Nyayas. He has taken illustrations from various works like ‘Vacaspatya’, the works of Satyavrata Sāmāśrami and Raghunatha Varma. He has appended a list of Nyāyas, arranged in alphabetical order in Devanagari script. One more book has been recently published which has discussed Nyayas from the Mahābhāṣva of Patanjali.
The Nyāyas may be classified mainly under the following topics:1. Nyāyas related to mountains etc. 2. Nyayas related to ladies.
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Nyayas related to rural situations.
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Nyāyas like Arundhatidarśan nyāya,
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Nyayas related to social conditions.
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Nyāyas like Brāhmaṇa Vasiṣṭha nyāya.
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Nyāyas like Danḍāpūpa nyāya.
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Nyāyas related to food articles etc.
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Nyāyas related to animals and birds
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Nyāyas like Gobalivardanyāya, Hansaksirodaknyāya.
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Nyayas like Khalekapota nyaya.
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Nyayas concerning deities.
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Nyayas concerning Sastra conventions.
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Nyāyas like Nāgṛhitaviseṣaṇa nyāya, Sandansa nyāya. 15. Nyāyas related to Agriculture etc.
The early Śästra writers have added the word Nyaya to certain epigrammatic Śāstra rules, like a fa तदङ्गम्। (x)
Cf. (Sabara’s commentary on Jaimini vii.2.13). Many such examples have been given by Dr. P.V. Kane in his history of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, part II, pp. 1339-1359. This is my humble attempt of collecting the Nyayas although there are limitations also.
This work is an attempt of placing together the work done by earlier scholars briefly. As far as possible, I have assigned at least one illustration for one Nyāya. I have taken some illustrations mainly from the book “Bhuvanesanyāya sahasrī”. If a sustained effort is made, many more Nyayas and illustrations can be collected. Unfortunately, I have to restrict myself to a few ones only. I implore the scholars to look at this work as an effort of summarizing the earlier works. This work has incorporated the treatment of Nyāyas, carried out by the three works-—
(i) Bhuvanesalaukika nyāya sāhasrī,
(ii) Jacob’s collection of popular maxims and
(iii) Prof. R. Srihari’s Laukikanyāyakośa. I have only taken bath in this Triveni sangama. I have freely utilized the sacred water of the confluence.
Needless to say that there is little originality in it. I will deem myself fortunate, if more exhaustive collections of Nyayas are brought out by the scholars. (xi)