Nyaya is one of the six schools of
Indian philosophy, known for its studies on logic. The foundational text are the
Nyāya Sūtras, traditionally attributed to the Vedic sage Akshapada Gautama at his
Gautam Ashram in Mithila, but possibly composed by multiple authors between 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century BCE. A scholar specialised in the subject of Nyaya philosophy was called as
Naiyayika. There was a specialised village for the seat of
Nyaya Pradhan (translates to "head of Naiyayika") in Mithila. The village was known as
Tarkik Gram, presently it is called as
Targaon. Later in the 10th century CE,
Udayanacharya founded
Nyayakusumanjali which reconciled the views of the two independent schools Nyaya and
Vaisheshika of the Indian philosophy. The location of his academy where he taught his disciples is presently known as
Udayanacharya Dih in
Samastipur district of the
Mithila region. Nyayakusumanjali became the root for the foundation of the new version of Logic known
Navya Nyaya. In 13th -14th century CE, Navya Nyaya school was founded by
Gangesha Upadhyaya. He wrote
Tattvachintamani which was the authoritative text in the Navya Nyaya school of the Indian philosophy. During the period of 14th century CE, the other eminent
Naiyayika was
Ayachi Mishra. He taught his disciples free of cost. His academy was located in the
Sarisav Pahi village of the
Mithila region. The remains of the site of his academy is presently known as
Ayachi Mishra Dih. He also taught his own son
Sankara Mishra. His son Sankara Mishra also became a great scholar of
Nyaya Shastra. In the 14th-15th century CE,
Pakshadhara Mishra was an eminent
Naiyayika and the head teacher of Nyaya Shastra in Mithila. He was a court member at the court of King
Bhairava Singh of the
Oiniwar Dynasty in Mithila. His academy was situated at
Bhaur near the Sarisav Pahi village. His notable pupils were
Vasudeva Sarvabhauma and
Raghunatha Siromani. They came from
Nadia in
Bengal to Mithila for learning Nyaya philosophy with the teacher Pakshadhara Mishra. Late mediaeval Eastern schools of Brahmins were focused on Nyaya Shastra and logical sciences, in contrast to the Vedanta of southern Brahmins from the Vijayanagara cultural area. According to Vidyabhusana, the science of logic developed out of
parishad, councils of learned Brahmins. The Mithila school of Nyaya was an Indian school of
Nyaya philosophy, which flourished from the 12th-13th to the 15th century in Mithila. During the mediaeval period,
Shalaka Pariksha and
Shadyantra Pariksha were the examinations conducted for graduation from the institution.
Mahesha Thakura, the founder of
Darbhanga Raj, later introduced
Dhaut Pariksha. Students were not allowed to take any piece of written information with them after finishing their studies, to keep a monopoly on the study of Logic.'''' In the late 20th century, the tradition of Sanskrit and Vedic learning in Mithila continued by the establishment of the modern formal university known as
Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University at the campus of the royal palace called
Anand Bagh Palace of the
Darbhanga Raj. Presently it is a state university in the state of
Bihar. == School of Sankhya ==