Pramana Lakshanam
अशेषगुरुमीशेषं नारायणमनामयम् ।
सम्प्रणम्य प्रवक्ष्ययामि प्रमाणानां स्वलक्षणम् ।।
Madhwa Philosophy bases its doctrines on a set of valid, authoritative sources of knowledge called Pramanas. These Pramanas help us in understanding all aspects of the universe such as creation, its purpose, the goal of mankind and how to achieve it. Pramana Lakshna is a concise work written by Sri Madhwacharya summarizing the fundamentals of Pramanas based on an ancient text called Brahma Tarka. The strength of Madhwa Philosophy is in its sound, comprehensive system of Pramanas as expounded in the text Pramana Lakshana.
Definition and Classification of Pramana
Pramana Lakshana defines Pramana as the one which is "Yathartham" - one which is true to its object. It is classified into
- Kevala Pramana (Knowledge)
- 2. Anupramana (cause or source of knowledge). Knowledge is valid if it cognizes the object as it is. Similarly, the source of knowledge is valid if it is able to give rise to a cognition which cognizes the object as it is.
Understanding the world around us
- We are surrounded by a universe, part of which is directly perceivable by our sense organs. There is also another part which is not directly perceivable. That part of the universe which can be directly perceived falls under the purview of Pratyaksha Pramana. The other part which cannot be directly perceived falls under the purview of Anumanaor Agama Pramana. These three Pramanas fall under the category of Anupramana. The Kevala Pramana or Knowledge is four-fold - The Knowledge of Vishnu, the knowledge of Lakshmi, the knowledge of Yogis and the Knowledge of Ayogis.
The inter-dependence between Pramanas
- While Pratyaksha and Agama operate independently, past experience through Pratyaksha or Agama is a prerequisite for the operation of Anumana. It cannot operate independently on objects which cannot be directly perceived. In order to independently gain knowledge about things which are not directly perceivable, we have to rely on Agama Pramana only. In summary, we cannot rely on a single Pramana for knowledge about everything around us. Some objects exclusively fall under the purview of one Pramana and some others to another Pramana. So, we have to apply the most suitable Pramana to gain knowledge about a particular object. For e.g. we apply Pratyaksha Pramana to gain knowledge about the objects which are in contact with our senses. We apply Agama Pramana to gain knowledge about entities like God, Dharma and Adharma which are not directly perceivable by our ordinary senses. Sometimes, there is also a possibility of a clash between two Pramanas, in which case the dispute is to be resolved according to the Prabala Pramana or stronger Pramana. For e.g. a child infers that fire is cold just like any other object. This is disputed by the direct perception. We know that the fire is hot by touching the fire with our hands. As Pratyaksha Pramana is stronger than Anumana, the dispute is settled by taking the account of Pratyaksha Pramana and rejecting that of Anumana.
Salient Features of Pramana Lakshanam
- » Definition of Pramana as Yathartham » Definition of knowledge » Classification of various forms of knowledge » Elucidation about how Knowledge is perceived » Definition of Proof, various aspects of Proofs etc. » Classifying the AnuPramanas as three-fold only by showing that all other so-called additional Pramanas such as Parisesha, Arthapatti etc., to be special cases of Anumana Pramana itself. » The concept of Sakshi is a unique contribution to the field of Epistemology. » The definition and classification of errors is presented in a simple and concise manner avoiding unnecessary ambiguity and redundancy.
» Denial of error-status to certain cases such as Ashraya Siddhi, Sadhya Siddhi and VyadhikaranaAsiddhi on the grounds that they do not lead to any Atiprasanga.
Conclusion
Pramana Lakshana is an epistemological text of great significance. It clearly set forth the position of Dvaita regarding the nature and number of Pramanas. Classification of the Pramanas is presented. This work is characterised by a hallmark of brevity. This is further expanded by Sri Jayateertha in his commentary to this text and also in Pramana Paddhati, an independent work elucidating Sri Madhwacharya's pramana theory. Acharya concludes by way of performing an invocation
अशेषमानमेयैकसाक्षिणेक्षयमूर्तये ।
अजेशपुरुहूतेड्य नमो नारायणाय ते ।।