disregards  the  special  features  of the  ablative
　　   "because"   and   translates　　 the   three-membered
　　   syllogism as if it contained conditionals. Following
　　   Daye, I suggest  that  that  move  is too hasty, and
　　   that  we must regard  the ablative  "because"  as an
　　   operator connecting the hetu and d.r.s.taanta to the
　　   thesis.  Since  the Sanskrit  ablative  expresses  a
　　   relation   of   physical   or  conceptual   removal,
　　   separation, distinction, or origin, it was  used  to
　　   convey  the notion of causal explanation.  This fact
　　   gives  prima facie evidence  for interpreting  it in
　　   the sense  of "a reason  for." Such an understanding
　　   is reinforced by the meaning of "hetu," which is the
　　   name of the explanatory part of the three-

　　　　　　　　　　　　  P.186

　　   membered syllogism.  According  to Tachikawa, "hetu"
　　   primarily  means  'reason'.(8) This is solid  ground
　　   for reading  'q because  p' as: 'p is the reason for
　　   q', 'p is the explanatory hypothesis for q', or even
　　   the Peircean 'if p were true, q would be a matter of
　　   course'.

　　　　  Beyond   points   of  translation,  one  of  the
　　   strongest   reasons  for  seeing the  three-membered
　　   syllogism　　 of　　 the　　 Nyaayaprave`sa　　 as　　 a
　　   retroduction-deduction   is  the  existence  of  the
　　   five-membered   syllogism   in  the  earlier  Nyaaya
　　   tradition, particularly  the  Nyaaya  Suutra.(9) The
　　   five-membered  syllogism  of the  Nyaaya  Suutra  is
　　   perfectly  symmetrical  between  its  three  initial
　　   retroductive steps and its two culminating deductive
　　   steps:

　　　　  15. Thesis(pratij~naa)   for  example, there  is
　　　　　　 fire on the mountain.

　　　　  16. Reason (hetu)- The mountain smokes.

　　　　  17. Exemplification   (d.r.s.taata) -   Wherever
　　　　　　 there  is  smoke.  there  is  fire, as  (for
　　　　　　 example) on the hearth in the kitchen.

　　　　  18. Recapitulation of the reason (upanaya) - The
　　　　　　 mountain smokes.

　　　　  19. Conclusion (nigamana) There is fire on the
　　　　　　 mountain.

　　   If one were to picture  this pattern as an isosceles
　　   triangle, one side would represent  the retroduction