Summary: The Pucchāvāra is a primary structural framework used throughout the Paṭṭhāna. It organizes the text into a series of formal investigations, testing whether specific members of the Abhidhamma matrix are related to one another by way of the twenty-four conditions. (Patth 1)
Canonical locus
The Pucchāvāra governs the actual combinatorial logic of the text after the initial definitions are set. It frames the relationship in declarative optative statements that systematically test each possibility.
Patth 1.1 (patthana1.1:60.1)
Siyā kusalaṁ dhammaṁ paṭicca kusalo dhammo uppajjeyya hetupaccayā.
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"A wholesome dhamma may arise dependent on a wholesome dhamma by way of cause-condition."
Analysis
The Pucchāvāra operates by systematically permuting the members of a triad or dyad: (Patth 1)
- Wholesome -> Wholesome? (Yes/No)
- Wholesome -> Unwholesome?
- Wholesome -> Indeterminate?
- Mixed groups -> Single member?
For every such combination, the text evaluates the relationship under each of the twenty-four conditions. The Pucchāvāra ensures that the Abhidhamma's view of causality is not just a general theory, but a verified mapping of every possible doctrinal intersection. (Patth 1)
Textual notes
- The Pucchāvāra is the "engine" of the Paṭṭhāna's complexity.
- It transforms the static matrix of the Dhammasaṅgaṇī into a dynamic system of relational testing.