UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Samanya is the universal that is instantiated in many individual substances and allows us to group them under a common name. It is numerically one yet present in multiple loci, such as pot-ness in all pots. Nyaya-Vaisheshika treats universals as real entities distinct from both particulars and purely mental constructs. Thus the common nature described in the stem is samanya.

Option A:
Option A, dravya, refers to substances like earth or water that serve as substrata for universals and qualities but are not themselves the unifying properties.

Option B:
Option B, guna, denotes qualities such as colour or taste that inhere in substances and may vary from one instance to another, unlike universals which are shared.

Option C:
Option C is correct because samanya literally means "commonness" and explains how many individuals can fall under a single class-concept. It plays a central role in realist accounts of universals in Indian metaphysics.

Option D:
Option D, vishesha, stands for ultimate particularity that differentiates entities rather than unifying them, so it is conceptually opposite to samanya.