Philosophy, religion & the schools of Indian thought

The Astika Framework

Indian philosophy classifies systems by their stance on Vedic authority. The six orthodox (astika) schools—the shad-darshanas—accept the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge (pramana); the heterodox (nastika) schools reject Vedic authority. The six astika darshanas are traditionally paired: Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta.

Nyaya, founded by Gautama (Akshapada) in the Nyaya Sutra (c. 2nd century BCE), is the school of logic and epistemology. It systematised the means of valid knowledge (pramanas): perception (pratyaksha), inference (anumana), comparison (upamana) and verbal testimony (shabda). Its five-membered syllogism became the bedrock of Indian debate.

Vaisheshika, founded by Kanada (Uluka) in the Vaisheshika Sutra, is atomistic and metaphysical, holding that reality is reducible to indivisible atoms (paramanu) grouped under categories (padarthas). It is a proto-physics of matter.

Samkhya, attributed to the sage Kapila, is the oldest, dualistic system positing two eternal realities: Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (primordial matter), the latter composed of three gunas—sattva, rajas, tamas. Crucially, classical Samkhya is non-theistic; liberation (kaivalya) comes from discriminative knowledge.

Yoga, codified by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra (c. 2nd century BCE-CE), shares Samkhya's metaphysics but adds Ishvara and the eight-limbed (ashtanga) discipline—yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi—as the practical path.

Mimamsa (Purva Mimamsa), founded by Jaimini in the Mimamsa Sutra, focuses on dharma and the correct interpretation of Vedic ritual injunctions; it upholds the eternity and self-validity of the Vedas.

Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa) derives from the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra of Badarayana, and the Bhagavad Gita—the prasthana-trayi. Its three principal sub-schools are: Advaita (non-dualism) of Shankara (c. 788-820 CE), Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) of Ramanuja (1017-1137 CE), and Dvaita (dualism) of Madhva (1238-1317 CE).

Mapping the Pairs

Candidates should retain the founder-text-core idea triad for each. Nyaya gives India its logic; Vaisheshika its atomism; Samkhya its enumerative dualism; Yoga its discipline; Mimamsa its hermeneutics of ritual; Vedanta its metaphysics of Brahman. Note the recurring Prelims trap: Samkhya in its classical form does not require a creator-God, and Yoga's distinguishing feature versus Samkhya is precisely the admission of Ishvara.

The Nastika Schools

Three schools reject Vedic authority. Charvaka (Lokayata), attributed to Brihaspati, is India's materialist and empiricist tradition: only perception is a valid pramana, consciousness is a property of matter, and there is no afterlife or karma. Its hedonistic ethics—'while life remains, let a man live happily'—survives largely through critics' citations and the Sarva-darshana-samgraha of Madhava (14th century).

Jainism, crystallised by Mahavira (Vardhamana, 599-527 BCE per tradition), the 24th tirthankara, teaches anekantavada (non-absolutism), syadvada (conditioned predication), and the path of the three jewels—right faith, right knowledge, right conduct—culminating in kaivalya. Its five vows (mahavratas) centre on ahimsa. The 1st-century schism produced the Digambara and Shvetambara sects.

Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-483 BCE), rests on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the doctrines of anatta (no-self), anicca (impermanence) and pratityasamutpada (dependent origination). The Theravada-Mahayana divide, the rise of Vajrayana, and the four philosophical schools—Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Yogachara, Madhyamaka (Nagarjuna's shunyavada)—are high-yield.

Bhakti and Sufi Movements

From the 6th century CE, the Tamil Nayanars (Shaiva) and Alvars (Vaishnava) launched the Bhakti movement, later spreading north. The saguna stream (Ramananda, Tulsidas, Mirabai, Surdas) worshipped a personal deity; the nirguna stream (Kabir, Guru Nanak, Dadu) rejected idolatry and caste. Guru Nanak (1469-1539) founded Sikhism, its scripture the Guru Granth Sahib. The parallel Sufi orders—Chishti (Moinuddin Chishti, d. 1236, at Ajmer), Suhrawardi, Qadiri, Naqshbandi—stressed mystical union (fana) and emphasised the doctrine of Wahdat al-Wujud associated with Ibn Arabi.

Why This Matters for the Exam

This topic feeds Prelims GS directly—matching founders to texts and schools to core doctrines is a perennial question type (e.g., 2019, 2020 saw items on Bhakti saints and Buddhist councils). In Mains GS-1, philosophy appears under 'Indian culture: salient aspects of art forms, literature... from ancient to modern times' and intersects with the ethics paper (GS-4) on Indian thinkers. PYQ pattern: assertion-reasoning on Samkhya's atheism, statement-based questions distinguishing Advaita from Dvaita, and analytical Mains questions on Bhakti's social impact. Retain the founder-text-doctrine triads as flashcards; they convert directly into marks.