Pratyaksha

Direct sense-perception — the first pramana, knowledge acquired through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching.

Overview

Pratyaksha is the primary and paradigmatic pramana. Literally prati-akṣa, “in front of the eye” — knowledge that comes through immediate sensory contact with an object. All other pramanas in classical Indian epistemology are, in some sense, reducible to or grounded in pratyaksha: inference depends on having perceived a prior sign-signified pair; testimony depends on someone having perceived what they now report.

Not to be confused with aparoksha (immediate, direct acquaintance) — pratyaksha is a type of knowledge (sensory), whereas aparoksha is a character of knowledge (non-mediate). Brahman cannot be known by pratyaksha (it is not an object for the senses), but the realization of Brahman must be aparoksha.

Related concepts

• pramana — the general category; pratyaksha is its first member
• paroksha-aparoksha — the mediate/immediate axis, orthogonal to this
• shabda-pramana — the pramana for Brahman (since pratyaksha can’t reach it)

In the Gita

• 02-18 — Brahman is aprameyam: beyond pratyaksha, among others.

Lecture evidence

• Ep. 6 [65:03]: Pratyaksha named as direct perception, the first pramana.