घुणाक्षर न्याय (Gunākshara Nyāya) – The maxim of the letters made by the wood worm, Ghuna.
This worm bores holes in wood and in books which sometimes assume the shape of a letter; hence it is used to denote the occurrence of something quite accidental, or a chance occurrence.
Chakrapani in Deerghamjeeviteeyam Adhyaya refers this Nyaya while explaining the Samyagyukta Bheshaja Lakshana. Bheshaja when properly used gives Arogya. A physician who is Jnaanavan can only do the proper Yojana of the Bheshaja.
One who attains good results without proper Jnāna is by Yadrucchaa, that is, by chance. It is like Ghunaakshara – the worm accidentally causing an Akshara. This highlights the requirement of Jnāna for Samyagyojana of Bheshaja and the Siddhi of Chikitsaa.
In short, holes in wood can accidentally come to represent letters, but that does not mean that the worm is learned, or that it was done on purpose.
It can be called a chance occurrence, or a fluke.
Likewise, some people can arrive at the answer by chance, but it doesn’t mean that they have worked hard to learn or practice – sometimes it just happens. True knowledge is obtained the hard way, the rest is all Gunākshara Nyāya…
See you tomorrow!