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== The Problem ==

== The Problem ==

The problem, in short, is whether there is a real entity called Relation, i.e., is there anything called Relation which is real? To this, Idealists (Advaitins and Buddhists) answer "No" and the Realists (Nyaya- Vaiseshika, Mimamsakas and other pluralists) answer "Yes." Since the present topic pertains to understanding the Realists' view of Relation, their arguments are presented without deeper comparison or elaboration of the Idealistic perspectives.  

The problem, in short, is whether there is a real entity called Relation, i.e., is there anything called Relation which is real? To this, Idealists (Advaitins and Buddhists) answer "No" and the Realists (Nyaya-Vaiseshika, Mimamsakas and other pluralists) answer "Yes." Since the present topic pertains to understanding the Realists' view of Relation, their arguments are presented without deeper comparison or elaboration of the Idealistic perspectives.  

According to Nyaya-Vaiseshika, our behaviour depends upon savikalpa-jnana (determinate cognition): it reveals a structure of qualifier-qualificand type involving an entity called Relation between them.<ref name=":0" /> But since, in reality, it is the [[Manas (मनः)|Manas]] which connects things encoded in language, the idealists have taken the relation  to be an imaginary entity. Realists, on the other hand, do not consider savikalpa-jnana as false cognition (unlike idealists who do so), they say that the relation involved therein is not false. To the idealists, the external world is merely a mental creation and as such does not have any reality; the realists, however, differ and explain the presence of a thing in the knowledge by accepting a Relation called Vishaya-vishayi-bhava, container and contained relationship. Through this relation any object can appear in the knowledge and hence there is no necessity to deny the existence of an outside world. They explain further that Vishaya-vishayi-bhava relation is not a distinct entity; it is a self-linking relation (Svarupa sambandha) revealed by the object or knowledge itself. <ref name=":0" /> Ascertainment of the reality of the vishaya-vishayi-bhava relationship also establishes others like samyoga, samavayi etc., and hence the relation is a reality according to the realists' argument. Further this also establishes the external existence of things which we know and with which we behave throughout life.<ref name=":0" />

According to Nyaya-Vaiseshika, our behaviour depends upon savikalpa-jnana (determinate cognition): it reveals a structure of qualifier-qualificand type involving an entity called Relation between them.<ref name=":0" /> But since, in reality, it is the [[Manas (मनः)|Manas]] which connects things encoded in language, the idealists have taken the relation  to be an imaginary entity. Realists, on the other hand, do not consider savikalpa-jnana as false cognition (unlike idealists who do so), they say that the relation involved therein is not false. To the idealists, the external world is merely a mental creation and as such does not have any reality; the realists, however, differ and explain the presence of a thing in the knowledge by accepting a Relation called Vishaya-vishayi-bhava, container and contained relationship. Through this relation any object can appear in the knowledge and hence there is no necessity to deny the existence of an outside world. They explain further that Vishaya-vishayi-bhava relation is not a distinct entity; it is a self-linking relation (Svarupa sambandha) revealed by the object or knowledge itself. <ref name=":0" /> Ascertainment of the reality of the vishaya-vishayi-bhava relationship also establishes others like samyoga, samavayi etc., and hence the relation is a reality according to the realists' argument. Further this also establishes the external existence of things which we know and with which we behave throughout life.<ref name=":0" />