It is very difficult to give satisfactory chronological accounts of the rise and growth of Indian Logic for the reason that the texts, which the science of logic or various logical terms have been mentioned or used, have so far failed to be dated with certainly. The earliest reference to logic or science of debate seem to be contained in chāndogyaupanisad where Nārada includes among the disciplines studied by him, one called vākovakyam(Ch.U.7.1.2).The term is explained by Sankarācārya as

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... logic(tarkasāstra),but it seems to signify the art or science of debate. Among later works the arthasāstra of Kautilya (400 B.C.) mentions logic under the name of anvīksikī, which is the first among the four disciplines, alluded to by him (arthsāstra 1-2.p.6). Perhaps even in those days, as now, the followers of reason or logic were not very orthodox people. Arthasāstra says that a person well versed in the art of governing ought to know logic also. Next important references are to be met with in the kathāvatthu (300 B.C.), which is a part of the abhidharmapiµaka in Buddhism. The work mentions Anuyoga(inquiry),âharana(illustration), patina (proposition) [1] . In the Mahābhāratanot only the term Upanayana (application of reason), Niggaha(Nigraha-humilation of or defeat),Anvīksikī,etc. have been used, but also there is a reference to the five member sentence or speech whose strong and weak points were thoroughly known to Nārada [2] In vanaparva,a chapter of Mahābhārata there is a story about the controversy between vandi, the court philosopher of king Janaka, and Astāvākra, a young scholar. The story is illustrative of the fact that the rules of controversy were known at the time of Mahābhārata. It is certainly true that rules of controversy cannot be identified with the theory of logic. But it is the rules of controversy, which are primarily discussed in aphorisms of Aksapāda. So the reference to the rules of controversy in Mahābhārata is very important for the historical development of logic.