ABSTRACT
Of all the Indian systems of philosophy, Sāṁkhya is perhaps the most ancient; it is also the most respected in antiquity. The school is famous for its metaphysical dualism between two principles, viz., prakṛti and puruṣa, the theory of causation that the effect pre-exists in the material cause and the theory of the evolution of prakṛti into the manifest world, which includes in its fold the cognitive, the psychological, and the ethical components of human experiences. Liberation (kaivalya) comes from the knowledge of the distinction between prakṛti and puruṣa. Thus, the three pillars of this system are: prakṛti and puruṣa, and the theory of evolution, the primary focus of this chapter. The concept of "guṇa" has played an important role in almost all schools of Indian philosophy. Sāṁkhya, like the rest of the Indian systems, developed its own theory of knowledge with a theory of inferential knowledge subordinated to it.
