padarth

Padarth is a Sanskrit term that can be translated as "thing," "substance," "entity," or "matter." In Indian philosophy, particularly within the Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools, padarth refers to the fundamental categories of existence. These categories are considered the building blocks of the universe and are used to analyze and understand reality. The Vaisheshika school, in particular, developed a comprehensive ontology based on six or seven padarthas.

The traditional six padarthas are: Dravya (substance), Guna (quality), Karma (action/motion), Samanya (generality/universal), Vaisheshika (particularity/particular), and Samavaya (inherence/co-inherence). Some later philosophers added a seventh padartha, Abhava (non-being/negation), to account for negative facts and the absence of things.

Each padartha represents a distinct ontological category that helps in classifying all knowable objects. Dravya is the underlying material reality, Guna are its attributes, Karma describes its changes, Samanya is what makes things of the same kind, Vaisheshika is what distinguishes individual instances, and Samavaya is the inseparable relation between substance and its qualities or actions. Abhava, when included, explains the concept of absence or non-existence. Understanding these padarthas was crucial for achieving liberation (moksha) by gaining true knowledge of reality.