As many of you are aware, we have a study group wherein we have been studying the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We started the group in 2008 and after almost 13 years of Svadhyaya (deep study), we “completed” our study of the yoga sutras in late 2021. While studying the sutras, we realized that many of the concepts discussed by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras are known to have, as their basis, some of the basic tenets of another philosophical system called Samkhya. It became clear to us that a deeper study of the Samkhya system of philosophy will also help in a better understanding of the concepts presented in the Yoga Sutras. As a result, we have since embarked on a study of the Samkhya philosophy.
Samkhya is regarded as the most ancient of the Indian Schools of thought. Some scholars believe that it even pre-dates the Vedas. Even though Kapila is considered to be the original founder of Samkhya and the author of “Samkhya Sutra”, many believe that the version of his text available today may not be authentic or original. Currently, the text that is widely studied as the original text on Samkhya is “Samkhya Karika” (SK) by Ishwara Krishna (IK). That is why we have chosen this text for study in this study group.
For a brief overview of the Samkhya system of philosophy, please visit my blog here.
Of the many commentaries that are available on SK, we have chosen the following two for our ongoing study as they are most commonly referenced by many scholars of Samkhya:
- Gaudapada (translation by Manikar)
- Vachaspati Mishra (translation by Virupakshananda).
As we go on, if we find other commentaries to be of help, we’ll include them into our study.
As we go through the study of the karikas, I’d be presenting notes reflecting my understanding of each karika as posts on this blog.
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