ABSTRACT
The Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika divides perception mainly into two kinds, viz. external perception and internal perception. External perception is derived through the external senses, and internal perception through the mind. External perception is of five kinds, viz. olfactory, gustatory, auditory, visual, and tactual perception. The objects of these different kinds of external perception are respectively the qualities of odour, taste, sound, colour, and touch as well as their generalities and negations. The objects of internal perception are the qualities of pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, cognition, and volition. Substances can be perceived only by the visual organ and the tactual organ; the remaining sense-organs are capable of perceiving qualities only. 1 Let us briefly consider the objects of these different kinds of perception.
