Cosmogony in Indian Philosophy (study)

by Rashmi Rekha Goswami | 2016 | 78,785 words

Buy relevant books

Summary: This essay studies Cosmogony in Indian Philosophy (and its Modern Relevance) by examining the theories on the origin and development of the universe. It is highlighted that Indian philosophy—from the Vedas through various schools like Shaivism and Shaktism—has provided diverse interpretations of creation and foundational theories of the cosmos. The present thesis analyzes these perspectives across different texts, including the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads, and considers their philosophical and scientific significance.

Furthermore, this study correlates ancient theories—such as the concept of the cosmic egg and primordial waters—with modern scientific ideas like the Big Bang theory. By incorporating original texts and secondary sources, the research seeks to demonstrate the continuing relevance and realistic value of Indian cosmogonic theories in contemporary thought, while acknowledging the limitations of covering such an expansive subject comprehensively.

Copyright:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Source 1: exoticindiaart.com
Source 2: shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Cosmogony in Indian Philosophy (study) in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

Acknowledgement

+ Chapter 1 - Introduction

. Part 1 - Cosmogony in Ṛgveda

. Part 2 - Cosmogony in Atharvaveda and Yajurveda

. Part 3 - Cosmogony in Brāhmaṇa and Āraṇyaka literature

. Part 4 - Cosmogony in the Upaniṣads

. Part 5 - Cosmogony in the Epics (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata )

. Part 6 - Cosmogony in the Śrīmad-Bhagavadgītā

. Part 7 - Cosmogony in the Purāṇas

+ Chapter 2 - Cosmogony in Sāṃkhya and Yoga philosophy

. Part 1 - A brief note on Sāṃkhya philosophy

. Part 2 - Cosmogony in Sāṃkhya philosophy (introduction)

. Part 3 - Process of evolution (in Sāṃkhya philosophy)

. Part 4 - Purpose of evolution (in Sāṃkhya philosophy)

. Part 5 - Four divisions of twenty-five categories

. Part 6 - A brief note on Yoga philosophy

. Part 7 - Cosmogony in Yoga philosophy (introduction)

. Part 8 - The role of God in the evolution

. Part 9 - Process of evolution (in Yoga philosophy)

. Part 10 - Ego and its evolutes

. Part 11 - Four divisions of twenty-four principles (Prakṛti and its evolutes)

. Part 12 - Comparison between the Sāṃkhya and Yoga philosophy on Cosmogony

. Part 13 - Criticism on Sāṃkhya and Yoga philosophy

+ Chapter 3 - Cosmogony in Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika and Yoga philosophy

. Part 1 - A brief note on Nyāya philosophy

. Part 2 - Cosmogony in Nyāya philosophy

. Part 3 - Nature of Atomic Combination

. Part 4 - Role of God and Adṛṣṭa in the evolutionary process

. Part 5 - The scheme of cosmogony in the Nyāya system

. Part 6 - A brief note on Vaiśeṣika philosophy

. Part 7 - Cosmogony in Vaiśeṣika philosophy

. Part 8 - Atoms in Vaiśeṣika philosophy

. Part 9 - The process of creation in the Vaiśeṣika philosophy

. Part 10 - Comparison between the Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika philosophy on Cosmogony

. Part 11 - Criticism on Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika philosophy

+ Chapter 4 - Cosmogony in Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta philosophy

. Part 1 - A brief note on Mīmāṃsā philosophy

. Part 2 - The Mīmāṃsā view of the world and its creation

. Part 3 - Composition of the material world according to Mīmāṃsā view

. Part 4 - Causes in respect of the world

. Part 5 - Role of the God in the formation of the world

. Part 6 - A brief note on Vedānta philosophy

. Part 7 - Cosmogony in Vedānta philosophy

. Part 8 - A brief note on Advaita Vedānta

. Part 9 - Cosmogony in Advaita Vedānta

. Part 10 - Process of creation according to Advaita Vedānta

. Part 11 - A brief note on Viśiṣtādvaita Vedānta

. Part 12 - Cosmogony in Viśiṣtādvaita Vedānta

. Part 13 - A brief note on Dvaita Vedānta

. Part 14 - Cosmogony in Dvaita Vedānta

. Part 15 - A brief note on Dvaitādvaita Vedānta or Svābhāvikabhedābheda

. Part 16 - Cosmogony in Dvaitādvaita Vedānta

. Part 17 - A brief note on Śuddhādvaita Vedānata

. Part 18 - Cosmogony in Śuddhādvaita Vedānata

. Part 19 - Comparison between the Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta

. Part 20 - Criticism on Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta philosophy

+ Chapter 5 - Cosmogony in Śaivism and Śaktism

. Part 1 - History of Śaivism

. Part 2 - Major schools of Śaivism

. Part 3 - A brief note on Śaiva-Siddhānta

. Part 5 - A brief note on Śrīkaṇṭha’s philosophy

. Part 6 - Cosmogony in Śrīkaṇṭha’s philosophy

. Part 7 - A brief note on Pāśupata

. Part 8 - Cosmogony in Pāśupata

. Part 9 - A brief note on Vīraśaiva

. Part 10 - Cosmogony in Vīraśaiva

. Part 11 - A brief note on Pratyabhijñā

. Part 12 - Cosmogony in Pratyabhijñā

. Part 13 - A brief note on Śaktism

. Part 14 - Cosmogony in Śaktism

. Part 15 - Comparison between Śaivism and Śaktism on cosmogony

+ Chapter 6 - Cosmogony in Nāstika schools of Indian philosophy

. Part 1 - A brief note on Cārvāka philosophy

. Part 2 - Cosmogony in Cārvāka philosophy

. Part 3 - Four basic elements

. Part 4 - A brief note on Jaina philosophy

. Part 5 - Cosmogony in Jaina philosophy

. Part 6 - The Concept of Reality–The Constituents of the Universe

. Part 7 - Atomic theory of Jainism

. Part 8 - The Jain structure of the Universe

. Part 9 - Time cycle or Kālacakra in Jain Cosmogony

. Part 10 - A brief note on Bauddha philosophy

. Part 11 - The Nature of the Universe (according to Buddhist philosophy)

. Part 12 - Principal theories of Bauddha philosophy

. Part 13 - Cosmogony in Bauddha philosophy

. Part 14 - Comparison among the Cārvāka, Jaina and Bauddha on cosmogony

+ Chapter 7 - The standpoint of Modern Science

. Part 1 - Origin of the Universe from the standpoint of physics

. Part 2 - The basic elements of the Universe

. Part 3 - Scientific elements in Vedic terminology

. Part 4 - The significance of Vedic Devatās in Scientific Cosmogony

. Part 5 - Indra-Vṛtta collision with the Big-bang Theory

. Part 6 - Theory of creation from the Philosophical and Scientific point of view

. Part 7 - Śaivism and Śaktism from the perspective of modern Science

Chapter 8 - Conclusion

Comments:

Comment functionality currently not enabled

Last Updated: 15 December, 2025