UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Classical Nyāya recognises exactly four independent pramāṇas: perception (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna), comparison (upamāna) and verbal testimony (śabda). Each is treated as a distinct and irreducible means of valid knowledge. Other candidate pramāṇas are either reduced to these or rejected as independent. Therefore the list that contains precisely these four is the correct one for classical Nyāya.

Option A:
Option A lists the standard Nyāya four: perception, inference, comparison and testimony. It neither omits any accepted pramāṇa nor adds any that Nyāya does not treat as independent. This makes it fully consistent with Nyāya epistemological texts.

Option B:
Option B replaces comparison with memory, but memory is generally considered mere reproduction of past knowledge and not an independent pramāṇa. Hence the set does not match Nyāya’s list.

Option C:
Option C omits inference and adds presumption, which classical Nyāya does not accept as a separate pramāṇa, so the classification becomes misleading.

Option D:
Option D adds non perception as if Nyāya had a separate pramāṇa for absence; that status is debated in later schools and is not part of the classical fourfold scheme.