[Footnote 1: See Nyâyamañjarî, pp. 12-26.]
[Footnote 2: Discussing the question of the validity of knowledge Gañges'a, a later naiyâyika of great fame, says that it is derived as a result of our inference from the correspondence of the perception of a thing with the activity which prompted us to realize it. That which leads us to successful activity is valid and the opposite invalid. When I am sure that if I work in accordance with the perception of an object I shall be successful, I call it valid knowledge. Tattvacintâma@ni, K. Tarkavâgîs'a's edition, Prâmâ@nyavâda.
"The Vais'e@sika sûtras tacitly admit the Vedas as a pramâ@na. The view that Vais'e@sika only admitted two pramâ@nas, perception and inference, is traditionally accepted, "pratyak@sameka@mcârvâkâ@h ka@nâdasugatau puna@h anumânañca taccâpi, etc." Pras'astapâda divides all cognition (buddhi) as vidyâ (right knowledge) and avidyâ (ignorance). Under avidyâ he counts sa@ms'aya (doubt or uncertainty), viparyaya (illusion or error), anadhyavasâya (want of definite knowledge, thus when a man who had never seen a mango, sees it for the first time, he wonders what it may be) and svapna (dream). Right knowledge (vidyâ) is of four kinds, perception, inference, memory and the supernatural knowledge of the sages (âr@sa). Interpreting the Vais'e@sika sûtras I.i. 3, VI. i. 1, and VI. i. 3, to mean that the validity of the Vedas depends upon the trustworthy character of their author, he does not consider scriptures as valid in themselves. Their validity is only derived by inference from the trustworthy character of their author. Arthâpatti (implication) and anupalabdhi (non-perception) are also classed as inference and upamâna (analogy) and aitihya (tradition) are regarded as being the same as faith in trustworthy persons and hence cases of inference.]
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Nyâya adds a fourth, upamâna (analogy). The principle on which the four-fold division of pramâ@nas depends is that the causal collocation which generates the knowledge as well as the nature or characteristic kind of knowledge in each of the four cases is different. The same thing which appears to us as the object of our perception, may become the object of inference or s'abda (testimony), but the manner or mode of manifestation of knowledge being different in each case, and the manner or conditions producing knowledge being different in each case, it is to be admitted that inference and s'abda are different pramâ@nas, though they point to the same object indicated by the perception. Nyâya thus objects to the incorporation of s'abda (testimony) or upamâna within inference, on the ground that since the mode of production of knowledge is different, these are to be held as different pramâ@nas [Footnote ref 1].
Perception (Pratyak@sa).
The naiyâyikas admitted only the five cognitive senses which they believed to be composed of one or other of the five elements. These senses could each come in contact with the special characteristic of that element of which they were composed. Thus the ear could perceive sound, because sound was the attribute of âkâs'a, of which the auditory sense, the ear, was made up. The eye could send forth rays to receive the colour, etc., of things. Thus the cognitive senses can only manifest their specific objects by going over to them and thereby coming in contact with them. The cognitive senses (vâk, pâni, pâda, pâyu, and upastha) recognized in Sâ@mkhya as separate senses are not recognized here as such for the functions of these so-called senses are discharged by the general motor functions of the body.
Perception is defined as that right knowledge generated by the contact of the senses with the object, devoid of doubt and error not associated with any other simultaneous sound cognition (such
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[Footnote 1: