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UGC NET PAPER 1 · UNIT 06 · MODULE 6: INDIAN LOGIC: OTHER PRAMANAS AND THEORIES OF ERROR · TOPIC 14

Upamana (Comparison)

Knowledge through similarity: the gavaya example, the steps of upamana, and which schools accept it, reject it or reduce it.

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  1. 14.1Definition and StepsDefinition: the means of knowing the relation between a name and the thing it denotes through similarity ( sadrishya ).
    • Definition
    • name and the thing it denotes
    • similarity
    • Steps
    • atidesha-vakya
  2. 14.2Views of the SchoolsSchool Position Nyaya Independent pramana (knowledge of the relation between a word and its meaning) Bhatta Mimamsa and Advaita Independent pramana, but it gives knowledge…
    • Nyaya
    • Bhatta Mimamsa and Advaita
    • Prabhakara Mimamsa
    • Samkhya
    • Jainism

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14.1Definition and Steps#

In brief

Definition: the means of knowing the relation between a name and the thing it denotes through similarity ( sadrishya ).

  • Definition
  • name and the thing it denotes
  • similarity
  • Steps
  • atidesha-vakya

Definition: the means of knowing the relation between a name and the thing it denotes through similarity (sadrishya). Example: a forest-dweller says, "A gavaya is like a cow." The traveller later sees an animal resembling a cow and recognises it as a gavaya.

Steps: (1) hear the atidesha-vakya (the statement of similarity); (2) perceive the similar animal; (3) recall the statement; (4) knowledge: "This is a gavaya."

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14.2Views of the Schools#

In brief

School Position Nyaya Independent pramana (knowledge of the relation between a word and its meaning) Bhatta Mimamsa and Advaita Independent pramana, but it gives knowledge…

  • Nyaya
  • Bhatta Mimamsa and Advaita
  • Prabhakara Mimamsa
  • Samkhya
  • Jainism
  • pratyabhijna
School Position
Nyaya Independent pramana (knowledge of the relation between a word and its meaning)
Bhatta Mimamsa and Advaita Independent pramana, but it gives knowledge of the similarity of the remembered object (cow) to the perceived object (gavaya)
Prabhakara Mimamsa Accepts it, in a slightly different manner
Vaisheshika, Buddhism, Charvaka Reject it (Vaisheshika reduces it to anumana)
Samkhya Rejects it as an independent pramana
Jainism Includes it in pratyabhijna (recognition)

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