[Advaita-l] Adhyaropa - apavada nyaya - An English article and my providing passages from Ramanuja system

[V Subrahmanian]

Here is an article in English on the adhyaropa - apavada nyaya (see link in
the sequel): I am citing from the English article and am providing passages
from Ramanuja, Shankara and Ranga Ramanuja. Also this article says:
//adhyāropāpavādābhyāṃ niṣprapañcaṃ prapañcyate ॥
(Attributed to Bhagavān Upavarṣa)//
I have asked the publisher of the article about the attribution source. In
any case, this is quite in tune with what Shankara says: sampradaaya vidaam
vachanam while citing the nyaya.
https://www.prekshaa.in/jivana-dharma-yoga-episode135
//A child wants to see the moon. Is it possible to search the entire sky
for it? No. Therefore, the elder carrying the child points at the branch of
a tree and asks it to look in that direction. The orb of the moon will be
visible in the direction of the branch. Therefore, something that seemed
far now seems to be near. This example is called śākhā-candra-nyāya. This
is adhyāropa-apavāda.
This nyaya is admitted by the Sribhashyam:
1. श्रीभाष्यम् 01-01-06 आनन्दमयाधिकरणम्
अशरीरं वाव सन्तं न प्रियाप्रिये स्पृशत: (छां.८.१२.१) इति । अतो
जीवस्याविद्यावियुक्तं स्वरूपं प्राप्यतया प्रक्रान्तमानन्दमय इत्युपदिश्यते ॥
(जीवस्वरूपस्य उपदेशप्रक्रमोपपादनम्) तथा हि शाखाचन्द्र न्यायेनाऽत्मस्वरूपं
दर्शयितुम् अन्नमय: पुरुष: इति शरीरं प्रथमं निर्दिश्य, तदन्तरभूतं तस्य धारकं
पञ्चवृत्तिप्राणम्, तस्याप्यन्तरभूतं मनः, तदन्तरभूतां च बुद्धि, प्राणमयो
(तै. आन.२) मनोमयो (ते.आन.३)
This is exactly admitted by Advaita too: Here is the Shankara bhashyam for
the Taittiriya Upanishad, panchakosha viveka, what Ramanuja says above:
स हि पुरुषः इह विद्यया आन्तरतमं ब्रह्म सङ्क्रामयितुमिष्टः । तस्य च
बाह्याकारविशेषेष्वनात्मसु आत्मभाविताबुद्धिः विना आलम्बनविशेषं कञ्चित् सहसा
आन्तरतमप्रत्यगात्मविषया निरालम्बना च कर्तुमशक्येति
दृष्टशरीरात्मसामान्यकल्पनया शाखाचन्द्रनिदर्शनवदन्तः प्रवेशयन्नाह -
तस्येदमेव शिरः । तस्य अस्य पुरुषस्यान्नरसमयस्य इदमेव शिरः प्रसिद्धम् ।
The word śākhā-candra-nyāya is present in both Sribhashyam and Shankara
bhashyam for the same purpose.
The sthUla arundhati nyaya is also admitted by Rangaramanuja in the
Taittiriya Bhashyam, for the same purpose as the shakha chandra nyaya by
Ramanuja:
एवम् आकाशादेः अन्नमयशब्दित-स्थूलशरीरपर्यन्तस्य ब्रह्मैव आत्मा, उपादानञ्च
इत्युक्त्वा, स आत्मा कः? इत्यपेक्षायाम्, आनन्दमय एव आत्मा इति दर्शयितुं
स्थूलारुन्धतीन्यायेन स्थूलदेहान्तर्वतिनं प्राणमयम् आत्मत्वेन दर्शयति ।
सूक्ष्मारुन्धतीं दर्शयितुं प्रवृत्तः पुरुषः प्रथमत एव सूक्ष्माया
अरुन्धत्याः प्रदर्शनासंभवं पर्यालोच्य तत्समीपवर्तिनीं स्थूलतारकाम्,
इयमेवारुन्धती इति प्रदर्शयति । तस्यां स्थूलतारकायां श्रोतुः अरुन्धती
त्वबुद्धौ दृढायां तत्समीपवर्तिनीं वस्तुतोऽरुन्धतीं सूक्ष्माम्,
इयमेवारुन्धती इति प्रदर्शयति । सोऽयं स्थूलारुन्धतीन्याय इत्यर्थः
Shankara too accepts this nyaya in the anandamayaadhikharana, for the same
purpose as Rangaramanuja, though in the alluding to the purvapaksha:
अन्नमयं शरीरमनात्मानमत्यन्तमूढानामात्मत्वेन प्रसिद्धमनूद्य
मूषानिषिक्तद्रुतताम्रादिप्रतिमावत्ततोऽन्तरं ततोऽन्तरमित्येवं पूर्वेण
पूर्वेण समानमुत्तरमुत्तरमनात्मानमात्मेति ग्राहयत् ,
प्रतिपत्तिसौकर्यापेक्षया सर्वान्तरं मुख्यमानन्दमयमात्मानमुपदिदेशेति
श्लिष्टतरम् । यथारुन्धतीनिदर्शने बह्वीष्वपि तारास्वमुख्यास्वरुन्धतीषु
दर्शितासु, या अन्त्या प्रदर्श्यते सा मुख्यैवारुन्धती भवति;
एवमिहाप्यानन्दमयस्य सर्वान्तरत्वान्मुख्यमात्मत्वम् ।
So, the Advaitin's stand that the adhyaropa apavada nyaya is also called
shaakha chandra and sthula arundhati nyaya is well documented in the
Ramanuja system too, though only the name adhyaropa apavada nyaya is not
popular in the Ramanuja system.
Continuing the citation from the article:
There is a tradition of showing the star Arundhatī to newlyweds on the
evening of their wedding day. Arundhatī is the epitome of pativratā-dharma
(the dharma of loyalty to her husband). But it is a very small star and not
easily visible. Therefore there is a tactic to spot it. The purohitas first
ask the newlyweds to turn towards the north. This is adhyāropa. The north
is not Arundhatī. Therefore there is an apavāda for that. Then the
saptarṣi-maṇḍala[3] is shown. This is also an adhyāropa; the
saptarṣi-maṇḍala is not the Arundhatī; then the purohitas show the Vasiṣṭha
star. This is again an adhyāropa, because Vasiṣṭha is not Arundhatī;
Arundhatī is Vasiṣṭha’s wife. Therefore another apavāda is required. In the
end, the purohitas point towards the tiny star next to Vasiṣṭha. This is
how Arundhatī is spotted. This is also a famous example called the
Arundhatī-pradarśana-nyāya. This is adhyāropa-apavāda.