Darshana — Oldest of the Six Schools
Samkhya
सांख्यदर्शनम् — The primordial dualistic cosmology. Two eternal principles — Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (matter) — and the 25 tattvas that evolve from Prakriti. Liberation is the discriminative knowledge that you are Purusha, not Prakriti.
- Samkhya (सांख्य) — 'enumeration' or 'number' — is the oldest of the six Darshanas, traditionally attributed to the sage Kapila. It is a dualistic and atheistic cosmology.
- Samkhya posits exactly two eternal, uncreated principles: Purusha (pure consciousness, plural and unchanging) and Prakriti (primordial matter, single and dynamic). Suffering arises from confusing the two.
- Prakriti consists of three qualities (Gunas): Sattva (clarity, luminosity), Rajas (activity, passion), and Tamas (inertia, heaviness). All of material existence — from the cosmos to the mind — is a transformation of Prakriti's Gunas.
- The 25 Tattvas (principles) evolve from Prakriti: Mahat (cosmic intelligence), Ahamkara (ego-principle), 5 Tanmatras (subtle elements), 5 Mahabhuthas (gross elements), 10 Indriyas, Manas, and Purusha.
- Liberation (Kaivalya or Mukti) is the discriminative knowledge (Viveka-khyati) that Purusha is eternally distinct from Prakriti. When this is realised, Prakriti ceases to perform for that Purusha.
- Samkhya is atheistic — it denies an Ishvara (God as creator). The cosmos arises from Prakriti's inherent dynamism. This sets it apart from all other Darshanas except early Buddhism.
Founder
Kapila
~7th–6th century BCE (oldest Darshana)
Associated with Atharvaveda
Primary Text
Samkhya Karikas (Ishvara Krishna)
72 karikas
The earliest surviving systematic text of Samkhya; Kapila's original sutras are lost
Key Concepts
Purusha
Pure consciousness — eternal, unchanging, passive witness. Plural (many individual Purushas). Has no qualities, does nothing, but illuminates everything. Its confusion with Prakriti is the cause of bondage.
Prakriti
Primordial matter — eternal, uncreated, dynamic, single. The source of all manifest and unmanifest existence. In isolation, it is in Guna-equilibrium; when near Purusha, it evolves the cosmos.
Triguna
Three qualities of Prakriti: Sattva (luminosity, clarity), Rajas (activity, passion), Tamas (inertia, heaviness). All mental and physical phenomena are combinations of these three.
25 Tattvas
25 principles: Prakriti (1), Mahat/Buddhi (2), Ahamkara (3), Manas (4), 5 Jnanendriyas (5-9), 5 Karmendriyas (10-14), 5 Tanmatras (15-19), 5 Mahabhutas (20-24), Purusha (25).
Viveka-khyati
Discriminative knowledge — the direct realisation that Purusha is distinct from Prakriti. This knowledge is liberation itself. Samkhya is achieved through jnana, not ritual or devotion.
Key Texts
| Text | Content |
|---|---|
| Samkhya Karikas (Ishvara Krishna) | 72 verses — the oldest surviving Samkhya text, ~4th century CE. |
| Samkhya-tattva-kaumudi (Vachaspati Mishra) | 9th-century commentary on the Karikas — standard textbook of classical Samkhya. |
| Samkhya Pravachana Sutras (attr. Kapila) | Later compilation attributed to Kapila; not the original text but important for the tradition. |
| Bhagavad Gita (Chapters 2, 13-18) | Incorporates extensive Samkhya cosmology and the Purusha-Prakriti framework into the Vedantic synthesis. |
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Explore shlokas and subcategories in Samkhya.