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OUTLINES OF JAINA PHILOSOPHY
The Mimāmsakas do not hold to extrinsic validity but intrinsic validity only. Hence, the view of the Mimāṁsakas is not complete according to the Jaina conception of validity. CLASSIFICATION OF THE MEANS OF VALID KNOWLEDGE
The means of valid knowledge are of two kinds. Is this twofold classification to be understood in the terms of what has been propounded by the Buddhists, viz., perception and inferencel or in a different way? The Jaina classification is certainly different. Their two kinds are named 'direct and indirect."? From the practical point of view they are called perceptual and nonperceptual. According to the Cārvāka, there is no other means of knowledge than perception (pratyakṣa or direct knowledge ). In order to refute his view, it is said that there is means of valid knowledge other than perception and it is proved by the determination of the validity and invalidity of knowledge, by the knowledge of other men's thoughts, and by negation. The realisation of the distinction between valid and invalid cognitions, of another man's thought, and the negation of what transcends sense-intuition are not possible without the help of other means of valid knowledge such as inference.
Furthermore, the validity of even perceptual cognition can be established only on the evidence of its unfailing correspondence with the fact. Why should the Cārvāka not acknowledge the validity of non-perceptual cognitions, arising either from verbal testimony ( authority) or from a logical ground (inference ) known to be necessarily concomitant with a fact, on the identical ground of unfailing correspondence with the fact? Hence, non-perceptual cognition is as valid as perceptual cognition.
The Vaiseșikas as well as the Sārkhya thinkers contend that there are three means of knowledge, viz,, perception, inference, and authority. The Naiyāyikas accept analogy in addition to the three. The Prābhākaras accept the four and add implication as the fifth. The followers of Bhatta (Kumārila ) accept negation as an additional means and thus assert six such means in all. All
1 Pratyakşananumānam ca. Nyāva-bindu, I, 3 2 Pramanan drikā. Pratyakşam paroksar ca. Pramāņa-mimāṁsā,
I, I, 9-10. 3 ibid., I, I, II.
