that it exerts on other conglomerations.  This in Sanskrit is called arthakriyakaritva which literally translated means—­the power of performing actions and purposes of some kind [Footnote ref 3].  The criterion of existence or being is the performance of certain specific actions, or rather existence means that a certain effect has been produced in some way (causal efficiency).  That which has produced such an effect is then called existent or sat.  Any change in the effect thus produced means a corresponding change of existence.  Now, that selfsame definite specific effect

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[Footnote 1:  Compare Milindapanha, II.  I. 1—­The Chariot Simile.]

[Footnote 2:  Compare Tarkarahasyadipika of Gu@naratna, A.S.’s edition, pp. 24, 28 and Nyayamanjari, V.S. edition, pp. 445, etc., and also the paper on K@sa@nabha@ngasiddhi by Ratnakirtti in Six Buddhist Nyaya tracts.]

[Footnote 3:  This meaning of the word “arthakriyakaritva” is different from the meaning of the word as we found in the section “sautrantika theory of perception.”  But we find the development of this meaning both in Ratnakirtti as well as in Nyaya writers who referred to this doctrine.  With Vinitadeva (seventh century A.D.) the word “arthakriyasiddhi” meant the fulfilment of any need such as the cooking of rice by fire (arthas’abdena prayojanamucyate puru@sasya praycjana@m darupakadi tasya siddhi@h ni@spatti@h—­the word artha means need; the need of man such as cooking by logs, etc.; siddhi of that, means accomplishment).  With Dharmottara who flourished about a century and a half later arthasiddhi means action (anu@s@thiti) with reference to undesirable and desirable objects (heyopadeyarthavi@saya).  But with Ratnakirtti (950 A.D.) the word arthakriyakaritva has an entirely different sense.  It means with him efficiency of producing any action or event, and as such it is regarded as the characteristic definition of existence sattva).  Thus he says in his K@sa@nabha@ngasiddhi, pp. 20, 21, that though in different philosophies there are different definitions of existence or being, he will open his argument with the universally accepted definition of existence as arthakriyakaritva (efficiency of causing any action or event).  Whenever Hindu writers after Ratnakirtti refer to the Buddhist doctrine of arthakriyakaritva they usually refer to this doctrine in Ratnakirtti’s sense.]

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