Samkhya - Historical Development

Historical Development

Samkhya thought evolved into a cohesive philosophical system in early centuries CE. As such, there is little evidence of existence of the Samkhya school before this time. However, the ideas that were developed and assimilated into the classical Samkhya text, Samkhyakarika, are visible in earlier Hindu scriptures such as Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. Earliest mention of dualism in the Rig Veda, a Hindu text that was compiled in second millennium BCE, is in the Indra–Vritra myth. In this myth, Indra, leader of the gods, slays Vritra, a serpent demon, to unleash the creative forces held captive by him. Gerald James Larson, a scholar of religions and philosophies of India, believes that this myth contains twofold dualism. He writes "On one hand there is dualism of order and chaos. On the other hand, there is dualism of Indra's power over against both the chaos and the order." The emphasis of duality between existence (sat) and non-existence (asat) in the Nasadiya sukta of the Rig Veda is similar to the vyakta–avyakta (manifest–unmanifest) polarity in Samkhya. The hymn of Purusha sukta may also have influenced Samkhya. It contains the earliest conception of Purusha, a cosmic being from whom the manifestation arises. Purusha also finds numerous mentions in the hymns of the Atharvaveda. The Samkhya notion of buddhi or mahat is similar to the notion of hiranyagarbha which appears in both the Rig Veda and the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

In the beginning this (world) was only the self, in the shape of a person. Looking around he saw nothing else than the self. He first said, 'I am' (aham asmi).

—Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.1

Oldest of the major Upanishads (c. 900–600 BCE) also contain speculations along the lines of classical Samkhya philosophy. The concept of ahamkara in Samkhya can be traced back to the notion of ahamkara in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Chhandogya Upanishad. Satkaryavada, the theory of causation in Samkhya, can be traced to the verses in sixth chapter which emphasize the primacy of sat (being) and describe creation from it. The idea that the three gunas or attributes influence creation is found in both Chhandogya and Svetashvatara Upanishads. Upanishadic sages Yajnavalkya and Uddalaka Aruni developed the idea that pure consciousness was the innermost essence of a human being. The purusha of Samkhya could have evolved from this idea. The enumeration of tattvas in Samkhya is also found in Taittiriya Upanishad, Aitareya Upanishad and Yajnavalkya–Maitri dialogue in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Buddhism and Jainism had developed in Northeastern India by the 5th century BCE. It is probable that these schools of thought and the earliest schools of Samkhya influenced each other. A prominent similarity between Buddhism and Samkhya is the emphasis on suffering (dukkha). However, suffering is not as central to Samkhya as it is to Budhhism. Therefore, it is likely that Samkhya imbibed this idea from Buddhism. Likewise, the Jain doctrine of plurality of individual souls (jiva) could have influenced the concept of multiple purushas in Samkhya. However Hermann Jacobi, an Indologist, thinks that there is little reason to assume that Samkhya notion of Purushas was solely dependent on the notion of jiva in Jainism. It is more likely, that Samkhya was moulded by many ancient theories of soul in various Vedic and non-Vedic schools.

This declared to you is the Yoga of the wisdom of Samkhya. Hear, now, of the integrated wisdom with which, Partha, you will cast off the bonds of karma.

—Bhagavad Gita 2.39

Between 5th and 2nd century BCE, Samkhya thought from various sources started coalescing into a distinct philosophy. Philosophical texts from this era such as the Katha Upanishad, Shvetashvatara Upanishad and Bhagavad Gita have clear references to Samkhyan terminology and concepts. Katha Upanishad conceives the purusha as an individual soul which Ātman (Self) inhabits. Other verses of the Upanishad consider purusha to be smaller than the thumb. Samkhya and Yoga are mentioned together for first time in the Shvetashvatra Upanishad. Bhagavad Gita identifies Samkhya with understanding or knowledge. The three gunas are also mentioned in the Gita, though they are not used in the same sense as in classical Samkhya. The Gita integrates Samkhya thought with the devotion (bhakti) of theistic schools and the impersonal Brahman of Vedanta.

The earliest surviving authoritative text on classical Samkhya philosophy is the Samkhyakarika (c. 350–450 CE) of Iśvarakṛṣṇa. There were probably other texts in early centuries CE, however none of them are available today. Iśvarakṛṣṇa in his Kārikā describes a succession of the disciples from Kapila, through Āsuri and Pañcaśikha to himself. The text also refers to an earlier work of Samkhya philosophy called Ṣaṣṭitantra (science of sixty topics) which is now lost. The most popular commentary on the Samkhyakarikia was the Gauḍapāda Bhāșya attributed to Gauḍapāda, the proponent of Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy. Richard King, Professor of Religious Studies, thinks it is unlikely that Gauḍapāda could have authored both texts, given the differences between the two philosophies. Other important commentaries on the karika were Yuktidīpīka (c. 6th century CE) and Vācaspati’s Sāṁkhyatattvakaumudī (c. 10th century CE). Sāṁkhyapravacana Sūtra (c. 14th century CE) renewed interest in Samkhya in the medieval era. It is considered the second most important work of Samkhya after the karika. Commentaries on this text were written by Anirruddha (Sāṁkhyasūtravṛtti, c. 15th century CE), Vijñānabhikṣu (Sāṁkhyapravacanabhāṣya, c. 16th century CE), Mahādeva (vṛttisāra, c. 17th century CE) and Nāgeśa (Laghusāṁkhyasūtravṛtti). According Surendranath Dasgupta, scholar of Indian philosophy, Charaka Samhita, an ancient Indian medical treatise, also contains thoughts from an early Samkhya school.