CAN DOUBT BE CONSIDERED AS A WITCH (PIŚĀCINĪ)?

Abstract

The present paper considers the statement of Udayana in his Nyāyakusumāñjali regarding the status of doubt in philosophy. In fact, doubt or saṁśaya is taken by the opponents like Nāgārjuna, etc. as a non-entity. Some of the opponents consider it as having a negative impact. In the Śrīmadbhagavadgītā the Divine Teacher affirms that doubt as such is to be taken as a devil having negative impact on others in the following verse- ‘saṁśayātmā vinaśyati’ i.e., an individual having dubious state of mind is ruined. In the following an effort will be made to highlight the reasons given by the opponents in favour of negative attitude towards doubt. Ultimately it will be shown that doubt is not a devil having a negative impact, but it is part and parcel in philosophical exercise and growth following the line of Udayana who emphatically declares- ‘na hyevaṁ sati śaṁkāpiśācyavakāśamāsādayati.’¹