> [!abstract] > *Padārtha* is a Sanskrit word for "categories" in Vaisheshika [or Vaiśeṣika] and Nyaya [two of the six schools of Hindu philosophy from Ancient India]. > > The term *padārtha* is a portmanteau of *pada*, "word" and *artha*, "meaning" or "referent", and so the term *padārtha* indicates "the meaning or referent of words". > > *Padārthas* are distinct from the categories of [[Categories (Aristotle)|Aristotle]], Kant, and Hegel. According to Aristotle, categories are logical classification of predicates; Kant states that categories are only patterns of understanding, while Hegel’s categories are dynamic stages in the development of thought. The Vaisheshika categories are a metaphysical classification of all knowable objects. > > [By contrast with Aristotle's ten categories], the Vaisheshikas instead place the concepts of time and place under substance; relation under quality; inherence, quantity and property under quality. Passivity is considered the opposite of activity. (Padārtha, 2024). ### According to the Vaisheshika school --- *Padārtha* or objects of experience can be divided as *bhāva* (real existence) and *abhāva* (non-existence). The *bhāva padārthas* are of six types, while *abhāva* was added later. These are: - *Dravya* (substance), an entity having *guna* and *karma*. - *Guṇa* (quality), the substrate of substance, devoid of action. - *Karma* (activity), transient and dynamic, i.e., upward movement, downward movement, contraction, expansion, and locomotion. - *Sāmānya* (generality), the classicism of the substances i.e. *papa*, *apara*, *parapara*. - *Viśeṣa* (particularity) - *Samavāya* (inherence) - *Abhāva* (non-existence), add by later scholars such as Śrīdhara, Udayana and Śivāditya. ### According to the Nyaya school --- Nyāya metaphysics recognizes sixteen *padārthas*, the second of which, called *prameya*, includes the six (or seven) categories of the Vaisheshika school. They are: - *Pramāṇa* (valid means of knowledge) - *Prameya* (objects of valid knowledge) - *Saṃśaya* (doubt) - *Prayojana* (aim) - *Dṛṣṭānta* (example) - *Siddhānta* (conclusion) - *Avayava* (members of syllogism) - *Tarka* (hypothetical reasoning) - *Nirṇaya* (settlement) - *Vāda* (discussion) - *Jalpa* (wrangling) - *Vitaṇḍā* (cavilling) - *Hetvābhāsa* (fallacy) - *Chala* (quibbling) - *Jāti* (sophisticated refutation) - *Nigrahasthāna* (point of defeat) ## References - Padārtha. (2024, December 29). In *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pad%C4%81rtha&oldid=1255440187 ## Related - [[Categories (Aristotle)]]