UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Samanyalaksana pratyaksha is defined as perception of universals through their instances, such that the common nature present in many particulars becomes directly evident. By seeing many individual cows, one comes to perceive the universal "cowness". Nyaya treats this as an extraordinary form of perception that explains our ability to form stable class-concepts. Hence the perception described in the stem is samanyalaksana.

Option A:
Option A is correct because samanyalaksana literally refers to the mark of generality and targets awareness of what is shared across individuals. It provides a realist account of how we access universals as genuine entities.

Option B:
Option B, jnanalaksana, involves perception mediated by a previous cognition and is typically used to explain cross-modal or residual awareness, not the direct grasp of universals via many cases.

Option C:
Option C, yogaja, is yogic perception grounded in meditative practice and is not restricted to universals; it concerns the extraordinary origin of cognition rather than its universal content.

Option D:
Option D, pratyaksha, is the generic term for perception and is too broad to pick out this specific mode of universal-focused awareness.