Gautama

Gautama - is popularly known as Akñapäda Gautama. According to some scholars, he lived in the 5th century BC and founded the präcéna, or older, nyäya school of philosophy. He wrote Nyäyasütra, which is known as the earliest systematic literature of the system. The traditional nyäya system as it stands today is mainly based on this work of Gautama. The Nyäya-sütra is divided into five adhyäyas, or lessons, usually called books. Each lesson is divided into two ähnikas, or daily portions, and these in turn contain a number of sütras, or aphorisms. These sütras are also divided into prakaraëas, or topics, by commentators such as Vätsyäyana and Väcaspati.