UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Dravya is the basic category of substance that underlies and supports qualities and actions. Classical lists include nine or more dravyas such as earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, space, self and mind. These entities provide the ontological foundation for other categories. Therefore the substrates mentioned in the stem are called dravya.

Option A:
Option A, samanya, denotes universals common to many substances and qualities but is not itself a substance.

Option B:
Option B, guna, consists of attributes like colour or smell that inhere in dravyas and cannot exist independently.

Option C:
Option C, karma, refers to motion or activity that also exists only in substances.

Option D:
Option D is correct because dravya literally means “that which flows” and is used to designate the enduring bearers of properties and actions within this metaphysical scheme.