RBSE VU Nyaya Darshan study plan

RBSE VU Nyaya Darshan · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 6 hours per week

Week 1

Introduction to Nyaya Darshan: origin, place among the six astika darshanas, and basic terminology & History and texts: Gautama's Nyaya Sutra, Vatsyayana's Bhasya, Udayana, Gangesha, and Navya-Nyaya

Define Nyaya and explain its place among the six astika darshanas in 150 words.
List the sixteen padarthas from memory and state the purpose of each in one sentence.
Outline the historical sequence from Gautama's Nyaya Sutra through Vatsyayana, Udayana, Gangesha, and Navya-Nyaya on a timeline.
Identify five key Sanskrit terms (pramana, prameya, samsaya, prayojana, siddhanta) and write their definitions.

A one-page timeline and glossary sheet covering the origin, textual history, and sixteen padarthas, self-checked against the syllabus.

Week 2

State the Nyaya definition of pratyaksha and distinguish savikalpaka from nirvikalpaka with examples.
Explain the five-membered syllogism (pancavayava) and identify each member in a fresh inference.
Define upamana and construct one original example showing how it yields knowledge of a name–referent relation.
Define shabda and list the conditions for its validity according to Nyaya.
Compare the four pramanas in a table with definition, object, and validity condition.

A comparison table of the four pramanas plus two original examples each for upamana and shabda.

Week 3

Distinguish jnana, bhrama, and samsaya with two original examples of each.
Map each of the sixteen padarthas to a prameya category and explain how prameya relates to pramana.
Define paksha, hetu, and sadhya and label them in three different inference examples.
Explain vyapti and distinguish kevalanvayi, kevalavyatireki, and anvayavyatireki vyapti.
Identify the five hetvabhasa types (savyabhicara, viruddha, satpratipaksha, asiddha, badhita) in given inference strings.

A fallacy-identification worksheet with ten inferences, each labeled with its components and any hetvabhasa present.

Week 4

Explain tarka (hypothetical reasoning) and distinguish it from inference in 120 words.
Define vada, jalpa, and vitanda and state the purpose of each in Nyaya debate theory.
Define chala and distinguish verbal from non-verbal chala with one example each.
List the main jati (false objections) and explain how they are answered.
Identify nigrahasthana (defeat conditions) in a sample debate transcript and justify each.

A debate-analysis sheet: one sample vada transcript annotated with vada/jalpa/vitanda markers, chala instances, jati, and any nigrahasthana.

Week 5

State Udayana's cosmological and moral arguments for Ishvara and explain the Nyaya response to the Buddhist and Carvaka objections.
Define apavarga and explain how right knowledge (samyag jnana) leads to liberation in Nyaya.
Compare Nyaya and Vaisheshika on padarthas and pramanas in a short table.
Contrast Nyaya's svatah-paratah debate position on validity with Mimamsa and Buddhist views.
Explain Nyaya's response to Carvaka on inference and to Buddhist on momentariness in 150 words.

A two-page comparative chart covering Nyaya vs Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Buddhist, and Carvaka on pramanas, self, and liberation.

Week 6

Re-derive the conditions of validity for each pramana and explain the svatah/paratah validity debate.
Solve five inference problems by constructing correct pancavayava arguments with valid hetu.
Diagnose and correct five faulty inferences by naming and fixing the hetvabhasa.
Explain the role of tarka in confirming vyapti with one worked example.
Distinguish upamana from shabda and from inference using borderline cases.

A closed-book practice set of ten inference and pramana problems with written justifications, scored against a self-made answer key.

Week 7

Summarize Gangesha's Tattvacintamani contribution and two features of Navya-Nyaya technical language.
Explain Udayana's Atmatattvaviveka and Nyayakusumanjali contributions in 100 words each.
Reconstruct a full vada on a set topic using correct debate terminology and avoiding nigrahasthana.
State the Nyaya soteriological chain from doubt through pramana to apavarga.
Identify three historical debates (e.g., with Buddhist logicians) and Nyaya's position in each.

A one-page written vada outline on a chosen topic that uses vada, jalpa, vitanda, chala, jati, and nigrahasthana correctly.

Week 8

Take a full-length timed mock covering all eight domains and score it.
Review every missed item and write a corrected explanation for each.
Recite the sixteen padarthas, four pramanas, five hetvabhasa, and main nigrahasthana from memory.
Produce a one-page comparative summary of Nyaya against the other five astika and the nastika schools.
Finalize a personal error log with the top ten recurring mistakes and fixes.

A completed timed mock with a written error log and one-page comparative summary, ready for final revision.

Week 2: Can define all four pramanas and construct a valid five-membered inference without notes.

Week 4: Can identify hetvabhasa and nigrahasthana in unseen inference and debate samples with at least 80% accuracy.

Week 6: Scores at least 70% on a closed-book set of inference and pramana problems.

Week 8: Scores at least 75% on a full-length timed mock and has a written error log covering every missed item.