---
title: "Schools of Indian Philosophy & Religion Guide"
description: "Map the six orthodox darshanas, the heterodox schools, and India's religious-philosophical traditions in a structured guide built for UPSC Prelims and GS-1."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/upsc-art-culture-philosophy-religion-the-schools-of-indian-thought"
---

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Philosophy, religion & the schools of Indian thought

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# Philosophy, religion & the schools of Indian thought

The six orthodox darshanas, heterodox schools, and India's religious-philosophical traditions—mapped for UPSC Prelims and GS-1 Mains.

## 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.

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