Handbook of Classical Sanskrit Rhetoric /89

Arthāpattiḥ: Presumption
 
In Mimānsăīmāṃsā school of philosophy, arthāpatti is one of the five

sources of knowledge or modes of proof (pramāṇa). There it has

been explained thus :
 

 
arthāpatti is deduction of a matter from that which could not else be ;

assumption of a thing, not itself perceived but necessarily implied

by another which is seen, heard or proved.
 
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In Nyāya-Vaiseșśeṣika school of philosophy, arthāpatti in a kind of

inference (anumāna). But the mīmāṇṃsakas treat it as a special kind of

inference (a separate method of knowledge, different from

anumāna) used to account for an apparent inconsistency. The differ-

ence between anumāna and arthāpatti (ie inference and presumption)

may be shown thus:
 

 
(a)
 
The strong and stout man does not take food during day-time.

From this statement it may be presumed that he takes

food during night. But the logic of the philosophical
school is slightly different from that of the rhetorical

school is slightly different from that of the rhetorical
school. According to Visśvanātha, the figure Arthāpatti is

based on the logic of the maxim of 'the stick-and-cake'

(ie daṇḍa-apuūpikā-nyāya)
 

 
Arthāpatti was first introduced by Bhoja who was followed by

Ruyyaka, Jayadeva, Viśvanātha Appayya, Jagannaātha and others. In

order to explain the logical sequence of this figure Appayya has

refferred to the maxim: what else can it be? (ie kaimutika-nyaāya).
 

 
eg 1. sa jitas tvan mukhenenduḥ / kā vārtā sarasiīruhām!

 
स जितस्त्वन्मुखेनेन्दुः / का वार्ता सरसीरुहाम् ?
 

 
Even that (glamourous) moon has been vanquished by her face,

Then what else can be the plight of the water-born lotus!
 

 
Here the poet intends to signify the beauty of the lotus-like

face of the maiden. But instead of directly stating this he informs

that even the moon has been defeated by the face and therefore

the lotus appears insignificant to it. So it is implied from the state-

ment that the beauty of the face is par excellence (as it is not com-

parable to the moon or the lotus).
 
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN