Samkhya thoughts in the Mahabharata

by Shini M.V. | 2017 | 51,373 words

This page relates ‘Introduction to Samkhya Philosophy’ of the study of Samkhya thought and philosophy as reflected in the Shanti-Parva of the Mahabharata. Samkhya represents one of the six orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy and primarily deals with metaphysical knowledge and explains the Universe without the need to introduce God. The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic which includes many Sankhya theories while expounding twenty-five principles.

Introduction to Sāṃkhya Philosophy

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All the philosophical systems consider Kapila as the exponent of the Sāṃkhya Philosophy. The opinion of Keith, Kapila was not a historical person.^[1] The Śvetāsvataropaniṣad mentions Kapila as—ṛṣiṃ prasūtaṃ kapilaṃ yastamagre || ^[2] iti |

Mahābhārata says that—

sanakaśca sanandaśca tṛtīyaśca sanātanaḥ |
kapilaścāsuriścaiva voḍhuḥ pañcaśikhastathā |
saptaite brahmaṇaḥ putrāḥ sāṃkhyajñānaviśāradāḥ || ^[3]

In the Padmapurāṇa and the Bhāgavata purāṇa also it can be seen that the founder of the Sāṃkhya system is one Kapila Vāsudeva who is the incarnation of Viṣṇu^[4].

According to Mahābhārata Vanaparva:

kapilo nāma devo'sau bhagavānajito hariḥ || ^[5]

Kapila is referred to as the chief of the Siddha in the Bhagavadgītā ‘Among all trees I am the ‘Asvattha’, among the celestial sages, Nārada, among the Gāndharvas Chitraratha, among the Siddhas the sage Kapila.^[6]

The Vedic sage Kapila was an incarnation of Supreme Godhead Viṣṇu. He is prominent in Bhā. p. which features a theistic version of his Sāṃkhya Philosophy. Traditional Hindu sources described him as a descendant of Manu, a grandson of Brahma. The Bhagavadgītā depicts Kapila as a yogi hermit, with highly developed Siddhis or spiritual powers. Kapila’s parents were Kardama Muni and Devahuti. Kapila is one of the founders of the Sāṃkhya School of Philosophy.

Origin and development of Sāṃkhya Philosophy

The earliest Āstikadarśana is Sāṃkhya. It gives a systematic account of the evolution of the universe and explains the twenty five principles. Sāṃkhya philosophy is rooted in the Vedas and the Upaniṣads. The development of Sāṃkhya has been put in to four stages. The Vedas and the Upaniṣads, the pre classical Sāṃkhya speculations in the epics. Classical Sāṃkhya represented by Sāṃkhyakārikā and its commentaries, and the renaissance period covering the Sāṃkhya sūtras and its commentaries.