Karika 6: How what cannot be seen is known
The words
Translation
General objects, which are directly perceived through the senses, are known through direct perception (pratyakṣa pramāṇa). Objects beyond the reach of the senses (indirect), however, are ascertained through inference (anumāna pramāṇa). Furthermore, entities that remain elusive even to inference can be understood through authoritative testimony (āptavacana pramāṇa).
The three sources of knowledge
Perception is definite cognition by a sense and reaches the objects of the senses; inference goes from a sign to what bears it and reaches what lies beyond the senses; testimony is the word of a reliable person and reaches what even inference cannot (karikas 5 and 6).
Gold: what karika 6 adds; a gold outline marks what it speaks of. Tap any box to see what the karikas say about it.