Description
Pramana, in the English language, means Evidence, proof
or facts. It is a way of establishing, finding and supporting
truth (reality).
The bona fide implication of pramana is acknowledged only
when there is no ray of hope and everything seems to be coming
towards the end.
It's a fundamental branch of the law in every country. According
to Buddhists scriptures, the two most notable scholars of
pramana philosophy are Dignaga and Dharmakirti.
The essence of pramana lies in the fact that the means by which true knowledge or truth is checked or verified and fiction is put to end. In the terms of law, there is a thin line of evidence between truth and lie. Infact, justice is acquired only when the truth prevails. It can be of any type such as words (written or spoken), pictures, eye-witness and an object of any type can also be a pramana.
Pramana can be classified into two categories:
- CHARAKA
- SUSHRATA
The above mentioned terms have been further classified into sub-categories as follows:
Charaka
Pratyaksha (perceivable through the senses or visible), Anumana (inference, presumption or hypothesis), Yukti (Policy, manoeuvre, reason or skill), Aptopdesha.
Sushrata
Prayiaksha, Anuman (Corollary, theory, guess or apprehension),
Upamana (that with which something is compared), Aptopdesha,
Pratyaksha (Cognizable by sight, evident, apparent or tangible).
The consequence is decided by the brain; that acts as the
centre of all decisions. Brain gets all the inputs or necessary
from the senses (smell, seeing, touch, hear) and process the
pramana to arrive at a judgment.
A. Anuman
It is information obtained by means of supposition. Anuman
means guess or anticipation of something.
It is one of the basic qualities of human beings to anticipate
the turn of events. Circumstances at the moment influence a person's
power of anticipation to a great extent. Sometimes, we anticipate
or expect things to act in our own way. For instance, as the result
of examination draw nearer, we expect it to be good or say want
we want our mind to believe. In the case of anxiety we tend to rely
on our institution or anuman.
B. Yukti Praman
Yukti means skill, expertise or proficiency. So, Yukti Praman would
means planning and doing something according to one's ability and
area of expertise. It is considered that planning done in accordance
with intelligence is always successful in implementation
C. Upman Praman
Upman means comparison. In upman praman, there is always some level of comparison between two similar things that have superior and inferior tag attached to it. In cases of law, two different evidences are always measured against each other.
D. Aptopdesha Praman
Aptopdesha means the words of an erudite or intellectual person that are considered final, authoritative and of importance. In ancient India, aptopdeshas were given by priests, kings, high-ranking officials, etc and contained some kind of secret and coded information.
The philosophy of knowledge is slightly different from that of truth because when a person gains knowledge, he or she becomes aware of the subject but it is not always real. Knowledge can be implanted also whereas it is truth that distinguish knowledge from its virtue.
