UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Hetvabhasa literally means “that which looks like a hetu” but is not genuinely connected to the sadhya by vyapti. Such a reason may resemble a valid hetu in form yet lacks the necessary conditions for successful inference. Recognising hetvabhasas helps one detect fallacies in argumentation. Therefore the deceptive reason described in the stem is called hetvabhasa.

Option A:
Option A, vyapti, is the genuine universal concomitance between hetu and sadhya and is a mark of validity, not fallacy.

Option B:
Option B, drstanta, is the illustrative example used to show the connection between hetu and sadhya; it may support or reveal a fallacy but is not itself the erroneous reason described.

Option C:
Option C is correct because hetvabhasa covers the standard categories of faulty reasons such as savyabhicara, viruddha and asiddha. Each instance looks like a reason but fails on closer analysis.

Option D:
Option D, paksha, is the subject of inference and cannot be equated with the defective reason used within the argument.