ABSTRACT
To identify philosophical manuscripts and printed books as the most important material elements of the Sāṃkhya system of religious thought is only partly correct. Sāṃkhya also has a material culture beyond the texts. One major part of the material culture of Sāṃkhya focuses on its mythical founder, the ancient sage Kapila. There are several different schools of Sāṃkhya philosophy, which are not merely found in the Hindu system of philosophy by the name Sāṃkhya; however, all the schools of Sāṃkhya do have in common a focus on Kapila. In Indian religious history, several traditions of Sāṃkhya with more or less parallel doctrines have flourished. The plurality of traditions is much larger than what is often presented as Sāṃkhya in academic literature on Indian philosophy, especially in general overviews of the Indian systems of philosophy or when making comparisons to Sāṃkhya when the main focus is on presenting other systems. In this literature, the term “sāṃkhya” most often refers only to the Sāṃkhya tradition of Sāṃkhyakārikā and the tradition of philosophical commentaries on that text, foremost of which is the Tattvakaumudī of Vācaspatimiśra.
