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Work #1782

Nyayakusumanjali

Udayana
c. 10th century CE · Sanskrit
Philosophical treatise in five chapters (stabakas, "clusters of flowers") · Nyaya-Vaisheshika school of Hindu philosophy

Logical proof of God's existence through five arguments — the world as effect, atomic combination, cosmic order, knowledge, and scriptural authority all require Ishvara

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Nyayakusumanjali
Time · Extent Both
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Discrete
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Cyclical
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Mediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Tradition
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Nyayakusumanjali

Both — Ishvara is eternal; the world undergoes cyclic creation and dissolution. Time is substantival (kala as a real category). Discrete in the Nyaya-Vaisheshika analysis of moments. Non-deterministic: the will of Ishvara and the choices of agents are real.

Space

Nyayakusumanjali

Infinite, substantival. Space (akasha/dik) is a real category containing all objects. Three-dimensional and local: atoms and composites occupy determinate positions.

Matter

Nyayakusumanjali

Atoms are eternal, finite in number, and combine under Ishvara's will to form the composite world. Conserved through cosmic cycles. Substantival and local.

Observer

Nyayakusumanjali

The self (atman) is the knowing subject — embodied, singular in each life, with mediate knowledge gained through pramanas. Ishvara is the supreme personal knower. Plural observers in a theistic cosmos.

Energy

Nyayakusumanjali

Not theorised independently. Causal efficacy is grounded in Ishvara's will and the inherent powers of substances.

Information

Nyayakusumanjali

Knowledge is a quality of the self, retained once gained. Ishvara's knowledge is total. The Vedas are a source of information authored by the omniscient Ishvara. Discrete: cognitions are distinct episodes.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Nyayakusumanjali

The Nyayakusumanjali's arguments presuppose the Nyaya-Vaisheshika ontology (atoms, inherence, universals) that Buddhist and other opponents reject. The fifth argument — from Vedic authority — is circular from a non-Hindu perspective, since it assumes what it seeks to prove (that the Vedas require an omniscient author). Within Hinduism, the Mimamsa school argued that the Vedas are authorless (apaurusheya) and eternal, directly contradicting Udayana's theistic account of scriptural authority.