 On at least one way of reading The Sweets of Refutation, Śrīharṣa’s project is just to illustrate the instability of reason: for any argument the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika philosopher may offer for their favorite ontological and epistemological categories, there is a refutation-argument that defeats it. The deliverances of reason—thus never immune to rational defeat—can only constitute inconclusive evidence. The important difference between Saṃkara and Śrīharṣa, however, lies in this. For Saṃkara, even on matters that are established by scripture, there is some room for inquiry, and reason informed by scripture can indeed help the inquirer understand the nature of ultimate reality. By contrast, Śrīharṣa takes his refutation-arguments to show that rational inquiry—whether or not informed by scripture—establishes nothing; faith alone can take us to the truth. Rational inquiry, for Śrīharṣa, is futile.