Annambhatta is a 17th century CE philosopher and logician.
He has written a primer on Hindu logic called Tarkasamgraha. Every beginner of
Hindu logic is familiar with the name of Annambhatta. The lucidity of style, simplicity
of expression and good communication skills in simple Sanskrit are the defining
features of his works. He hailed from Andhra Pradesh and flourished in the
latter part of the 17th century CE. He was the son of Meligiri
Tirumalaraya and the younger brother of Sarvadeva. He was the disciple of
Brahmendra Sarasvati, a stalwart of Advaita Siddhanta. He learnt Sanskrit
grammar from Pandit Visvesvara and studied Vedanta and Mimamsa under the able
guidance of Pandita Visvanatha of Varanasi. He mastered Nyaya, Mimamsa,
Vyakarana and Advaita Vedanta and wrote a number of learned commentaries on these
subjects. The better known and most popular amongst them are in the field of
Purva Mimamsa and Vedanta. He wrote a voluminous commentary called
Ranakojjivani on Nyayasudha of Bhatta Somesvara. He has also written a
commentary on Brahmasutra. The commentary on Panini’s Ashtadhyayi is a master piece.
His extensive commentary on Kaiyata’s Pradipa is popularly known as Uddyotana.
His contribution to the Nyaya Vaiseshika system is exemplary and is illustrated
by his learned commentary called Siddhanjana on Jayadeva’s Manyaloka.
Tarkasamgraha is the most popular introduction to the Nyaya-Vaiseshika system
of philosophy. It contains the essence of both Nyaya and Vaiseshika schools of
thought. Due to its lucidity and comprehensiveness it is eulogized as anugadadhari
(concise Gadadhari) and many commentaries were written on this work including
the author’s Dipika.
Since tarka (logic) is also used by the acharyas of the
other darshanas such as Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta and all Hindu philosophical
studies are characterized by the application of rigorous logic, Tarkasamgaraha,
has become quite popular with the beginners. It starts with the enumeration of
categories. They are –
Dravya (substance), Guna (quality), Karma (action), Samanya
(generality), Vishesha (particularity), samavaya (inherence) and abhava
(negation).
Annambhatta also gives a detailed description, with the
divisions and attributes of each substance. For example, the characteristic of
earth is gandha (odour). Similarly, the characteristics of all other elements (air,
water, space, fire) are given in the form of sutras. Their categories and their
divisions are also discussed. The four types of pramans – prayaksha (perception),
anumana (inference), upamana (analogy) and sabdha (valid verbal testimonry) –
are enumerated in this work.