pramana, in Indian philosophy, the means by which one obtains accurate and valid knowledge (prama, pramiti) about the world. The accepted number of pramana varies, according to the philosophical system or school; the exegetic system of Mimamsa accepts five, whereas Vedanta as a whole proposes three.
The three principal means of knowledge are (1) perception, (2) inference, and (3) word. Perception (pratyaksha) is of two kinds, direct sensory perception (anubhava) and such perception remembered (smriti). Inference (anumana) is based on perception but is able to conclude something that may not be open to perception. The word (shabda) is, in the first place, the Veda, the validity of which is self-authenticated. Some philosophers broaden the concept of shabda to include the statement of a reliable person (apta-vakya). To these, two additional means of knowledge have been added: (4) analogy (upamana), which enables one to grasp the meaning of a word by analogy of the meaning of a similar word, and (5) presumption or postulation (arthapatti), which appeals to common sense (e.g., one does not see the sun move from minute to minute, but, as it is in a different place at different times of day, one must conclude that it has moved.