The word meṇḍaka, a derivative of meṇḍa (“ram”), is generally translated as “made of the ram” or “about the ram” or “horned.” However, in the Pāli Milindapañha (Questions of Milinda), the word meṇḍakapañha, literally, a question about the ram, is also rendered as a logical conclusion that refutes an imaginary dilemma. Hence, in this treatise, the word meṇḍaka is a special logical term which means an imaginary dilemma that can be logically refuted. This raises the question as to why the word meṇḍaka has come to be associated with this logical technique. To answer this question, this paper examines various aspects of the word and its possible connections to a dilemma and its refutation. The discussion ranges from the meaning of this word in a tale in the Jātaka (Birth Stories), within the contextual usage in a meṇḍaka question, to a relatively recent commentarial text (aṭṭhakathā) which gives a different perspective on the etymology of the word. The Milindapañha is explicit in defining a meṇḍaka question as knotty, hard to penetrate, and difficult to resolve, some of which an opponent puts forth to undermine certain aspects of the Buddhist system. However, the way certain meṇḍaka questions are framed, though not directly stated, seem to utilize the principles of logic in a dilemmatic form of argument. With that, a meṇḍaka question, at least in the Milindapañha, could also mean “a dilemmatic expression put forth by a challenger to undermine an opponent, but which can be logically refuted.”
目次
Abstract 567 Introduction 568 Direct Meanings of Meṇḍa 569 Modern Translations of Meṇḍa 570 Meṇḍaka as a Logical Term 572 Logical Scheme of a Meṇḍaka Question 575 The Text and Its Commentaries 581 A Possible Etymological Explanation? 583 Conclusion 584 Abbreviations 584 Appendix: Translation of the Commentary to the Word ‘meṇḍa’ (Milindapañhaaṭṭhakathā) 585 Pāli Text 586 References 587
