Purvavat inference type – UGC NET Question

Purvavat anumana proceeds from knowledge of a present cause to a future effect that has not yet occurred. Observing dark clouds and inferring impending rain illustrates this pattern. Nyaya classifies such reasoning as purvavat because the inferred event is temporally posterior to the observed basis. Hence the inference described in the stem is purvavat anumana.

Option A:
Option A is correct since purvavat literally means “from the prior” and is defined as inference from cause to effect. It fits the temporal direction exemplified by clouds predicting rain.

Option B:
Option B, sesavat, goes from effect to cause, such as inferring past rain from a flooded river, which reverses the direction of temporal inference.

Option C:
Option C, samanyatodrsta, involves inference based on general uniformities not strictly causal, such as inferring motion from changing position.

Option D:
Option D, kevalanvayi, is a classification based on the nature of vyapti, not on temporal ordering of cause and effect.