Nyāya Sūtras 37

The example is an instance which, through similarity to what is to be proved, possesses its property.

Similarity to what is to be proved is the state of having a common property. Through the cause that is similarity to what is to be proved, the instance possesses its property.

"Its property" means the property of that; of that—namely, of what is to be proved. And what is to be proved is of two kinds: either a property qualified by a property-possessor, as in "the non-eternality of sound," or a property-possessor qualified by a property, as in "sound is non-eternal." Here, the latter is understood by the expression "its". Why? Because of the separate mention of "property". Its property is "its property"; the presence of that is "the possession of its property"; the instance in which that resides, possessing its property through similarity to what is to be proved, namely through having the property of having an origin, is accepted as the example. In that case, that which originates has the property of having an origin. And that, having come into being, ceases to be, abandons its nature, is destroyed; thus it is non-eternal. In this way, having the property of having an origin is the means of proof, and non-eternality is what is to be proved.

This relation of what is to be proved and what proves between the two properties is apprehended as established in a single entity through similarity; apprehending it in the instance, one infers it in sound as well: "Sound too is non-eternal because it has the property of having an origin, like a cooking pot and the like." It is called an example because by it the relation of what is to be proved and what proves between the two properties is exemplified.