UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Upamana is the pramana through which one comes to know an unfamiliar object by identifying it with something previously described as similar to a known object. After hearing that a gavaya resembles a wild cow, one later recognises a gavaya in the forest by comparing it with cows already seen. This recognition depends on grasping relevant similarity rather than direct testimony alone or standard inference. Therefore the process in the stem exemplifies upamana.

Option A:
Option A, pratyaksha, provides direct awareness of objects but does not by itself explain the informative step of recognising the new object as the one previously described. Perception supplies the raw appearance, while comparison via memory yields the upamana-based knowledge. Hence pratyaksha is only part of the story.

Option B:
Option B, sabda, certainly initiates the process by giving the description of similarity, yet the decisive cognition that “this is that described object” occurs only when one compares the perceived animal with the earlier verbal description. Thus sabda alone is not the pramana that completes the recognition.

Option C:
Option C, anupalabdhi, is the non-perception pramana used to know absences, such as knowing that there is no pot on the floor, which is conceptually different from identifying a new positive object by likeness. It cannot account for the comparative recognition in this case.

Option D:
Option D is correct because upamana isolates comparison-based recognition as a distinct epistemic route. It highlights a common pattern of learning new kinds by analogy with familiar cases.