Qualities (19-20): Icchā and Dveṣa (Desire and Aversion)

Icchā and Dveṣa is also a pair of qualities like sukha and duḥkha. These two are also correlated qualities, but they are not contradictory to each. That means one is not the negation of the other; but both are positive qualities.

Praśastapāda says that icchā is wishing for something which is not yet obtained, either for the sake of one’s own self or for other. This quality is produced from conjunction of the self and manas, pleasurable feeling and recollection of the pleasurable feelings of the past. It is of different types–desire for sexual pleasure is known as kāma, that for food is known as abhilāsa; desire for enjoyment of pleasurable objects again and again is known as rāga; that for future deed is known as saṃkalpa, desire to relieve the pain of others without any selfishness is known as kārunyaṃ; desire to avoid pleasurable objects as these are false is known as vairāgya and desire to deceive others is known as upadhā. There are many more kinds of desire.^[1]

About dveṣa Praśastapāda says that it has a nature of burning. Dveṣa is that because of which the self feels as if it is burning. It is caused by the conjunction of ātmā with manas, pain and recollection of painful objects. Dveṣa is the cause of prayatna, smṛti, dharma and adharma. There are different kinds of dveṣa, such as krodha (anger), droha (malevolence), manyuḥ (resentment) etc.^[2]

Annaṃbhaṭṭa gives very short definition of icchā and dveṣa. Icchā is longing and dveṣa is irritation.^[3] He has not elaborated these definitions.

Viśvanātha appears to be a little more elaborate in these respects. In his view craving for painlessness and pleasure is desire and it arises from the knowledge of them. Desire is twofold–that relating to the result and that relating to the means. Result is twofold, viz., pleasure and absence of pain. The cause of the desire for the result is the knowledge of the desire. The desire for the means is caused by the knowledge of its conduciveness to what is desirable.^[4] According to Viśvanātha, dveṣa, on the other hand, is caused by the notion of producing something repugnant.^[5]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vaiśeṣikadarśanam with Praśastapādabhāṣya, pp. 213-214

[2]:

prajvalanātmako dveṣa. yasmin sati prajvalitamivātmānaṃ manyate sa dveṣaḥ… krodhodrohaḥ manyurakṣamā’marṣa iti dveṣabhedāḥ. Ibid.,p.215

[3]:

icchā kāmaḥ. krodho dvesaḥ. Tarkasaṃgraha, p. 58

[4]:

Kārikāvalī-Nyayasiddhāntamuktāvalī, p. 277

[5]:

dviṣṭa sādhanatābuddhirbhaved dveṣasya kāraṇam. Ibid., p.280