The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1735 page)

(
c.
3rd cent. BCE). Ny
ya extends and develops
Vai
e
ika
(producing the form Ny
ya-Vai
e
ika), which is classed as
sam
natantra
, a similar philosophy. Both accept that life is burdensome and full of pain and suffering, and that the true goal is liberation (
mok
a
) which can only be gained through right understanding—hence the stress on valid argument and demonstration. The purpose remains unequivocally religious: logic serves to lead to truth and thus to mok
a, since the major impediment is
avidy
(ignorance). In the 12th cent., Ny
ya was developed further into Navya-ny
ya (New Logic), especially in the 14th-cent.
Tattvacint
ma
i