Within the wider scope of ancient Indian heterodox systems, the Charvaka or Lokayata school stood out for its radical materialism. What single valid pramana or source of knowledge did this school accept?

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The Charvaka school rejected all unseen metaphysical dimensions. Their epistemology establishes that Pratyaksha or direct sensory perception is the only reliable pramana. They completely denied inference (Anumana) or verbal testimony (Shabda) as absolute criteria for truth, arguing that what cannot be seen or experienced by the senses does not exist.

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