Pramāṇa

Pramana (; IAST: Pramāṇam) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge". One of the core concepts in Indian epistemology, pramanas are one or more reliable and valid means by which human beings gain accurate, true knowledge. The focus of pramana is how correct knowledge can be acquired, how one knows, how one does not know, and to what extent knowledge pertinent about someone or something can be acquired.

While the number of pramanas varies widely from system to system, many ancient and medieval Indian texts identify six pramanas as correct means of accurate knowledge and attaining to the truth. Three of these are almost universally accepted: perception (pratyaksha|), inference (), and "word" (śabda), meaning the testimony of past or present reliable experts. The other three pramanas are more contentious: comparison and analogy (); postulation or derivation from circumstances (); and non-perception, or proof from absence (). Each of these are further categorized in terms of conditionality, completeness, confidence, and possibility of error.