Pancavayava five limbed inference – UGC NET Question

Pancavayava literally means "having five members" and designates the canonical Nyaya format of inference that explicitly lists pratijna, hetu, udaharana, upanaya and nigamana. This elaborated structure ensures that no crucial step remains implicit, especially in debates and didactic contexts. It serves as an ideal model for presenting arguments clearly. Hence the five-part scheme described in the stem is called pancavayava.

Option A:
Option A, trairupya, names the three characteristics of a valid hetu and thus concerns conditions on reasons, not the overall format of inference. It deals with content adequacy, not with the number of avayavas.

Option B:
Option B, hetvabhasa, refers to fallacious reasons that fail to establish the conclusion; it is a category of defects rather than a name for the whole inferential framework.

Option C:
Option C, anumana, is the generic term for inference as a pramana and can occur in different presentational forms; it does not specifically identify the five-limbed style.

Option D:
Option D is correct because Nyaya texts explicitly use pancavayava to label the standard five-step argumentation pattern they advocate.