UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Anumāna is defined as mediate or indirect knowledge that arises after the cognition of a sign (hetu) that is invariably related to the thing to be known (sādhya). It presupposes prior establishment of vyāpti, the invariable concomitance between hetu and sādhya. When we infer fire from smoke, our knowledge of fire is mediated by the sign of smoke and the known relation between them. Thus, anumāna is distinct from direct perception and is grounded in a sign–signified structure.

Option A:
Option A describes pratyakṣa, immediate sense perception, which does not involve a mediating sign–signified relation. It lacks the inferential step that characterises anumāna.

Option B:
Option B refers to śabda, testimony, where knowledge comes from a trustworthy speaker’s words, not from observing a sign in the locus of inference.

Option C:
Option C correctly captures the indirect character of inference and the dependence on a previously known connection between hetu and sādhya. It emphasises that cognition of the sign leads to cognition of what is signified.

Option D:
Option D reduces inference to memory, but recollection alone does not constitute anumāna; inferential knowledge may use memory, yet it crucially depends on recognising a logical relation, not merely recalling past experiences.