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.