विषयो विशयश्चैव पूर्वपक्षस्तथोत्तरम् ।
निर्णयश्चेति पञ्चाङ्गं शास्त्रेऽधिकरणं स्मृतम् ॥
viṣayo viśayaś caiva pūrvapakṣas tathottaram |
nirṇayaś ceti pañcāṅgaṁ śāstre’dhikaraṇaṁ smṛtam ||
(Śloka-vārtika of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa)
“(1) The subject (viṣaya), (2) a doubt (viśaya) [regarding it], (3) a prior position (pūrvapakṣa) [regarding it], then (4) the answer [lit., the ‘latter’ position regarding it], (5) and the conclusion (nirṇaya)—an adhikaraṇa [i.e., ‘topic’] in śāstra in known to be of these five parts.”
Commentary
viṣayo vicārārha-vākyaṁ | viśayo’syāyam artho na
veti saṁśayaḥ | pūrvapakṣaḥ prakṛtārtha-virodhi-tarkopanyāsaḥ |
uttaraṁ siddhāntānukūla-tarkopanyāsaḥ |
nirṇayo mahāvākyārtha-tātparya-niścayaḥ | evaṁ krameṇa
vivecanam atrādhikriyate ity adhikaraṇam |
(Tithyādi-tattva; cited in Śabda-kalpa-druma)
“The ‘subject’ (viṣaya) is a statement meriting deliberation. A ‘doubt’ (viśaya) is the uncertainty, ‘Is this the meaning of that [statement] or not?’ A ‘prior position’ (pūrvapakṣa) is the proposal of reasoning (tarka) contrary to the actual meaning [of the statement]. The ‘answer’ (uttara) is the proposal of reasoning (tarka) consistent with the proper view [lit., ‘established end’] (siddhānta) [of the statement], and the ’conclusion’ (nirṇaya) is certainty as to the intention (tātparya) of the meaning of a great statement. Discrimination in accord with this process is [called] an adhikaraṇa [i.e., a topic], meaning, that in regard to which governance is done.”
adhikriyate’rthād vicāro’sminn aneneti vā adhikaraṇaṁ … |
(Śabda-kalpa-druma)
“‘An adhikaraṇa is [that in regard to which] governance is done,’ means that wherein or whereby deliberation upon the meaning [of a statement is done].”
Note that in some schools of thought the “answer” [i.e., uttara, or, uttarapakṣa) is termed the siddhānta, that is, the conclusion [alt., proper view]. Purpose (prayojana) and/or relevance (saṅgati) of the topic to its context are also sometimes considered constituents of an adhikaraṇa. For example, Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa writes at the beginning of his commentary on the Brahma-sūtra:
yasyāṁ khalu viṣaya-saṁśaya-pūrvapakṣa-siddhānta-saṅgati-bhedāt pañca-nyāyāṅgāni bhavanti | nyāyo’dhikaraṇam |
(Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 1.1.1)
“… In which [i.e., in the Vedānta-sūtra], there are sections of fivefold analyses (nyāyas) as per the divisions of (1) a subject (viṣaya), (2) a doubt (viśaya) [regarding it], (3) a prior position (pūrvapakṣa) [regarding it], (4) a conclusion (siddhānta) [regarding it], and (5) [an explanation of] the relevance (saṅgati) [of the topic, or its, conclusion, to the context of its discussion]. A ‘analysis’ (nyāya) here refers to a topic (adhikaraṇa).”