Sāṃkhya Kārikā Title
सांख्यकारिकाsāṃkhya-kārikā
Sāṃkhya Kārikā
sāṃkhya - enumeration; a numberkārikā - concise statement of doctrines in verseīśvara kṛṣṇa - name of the author of the Sāṅkhya KārikāCommentaries and Reflections
Commentary by TKV Desikachar:
“Sāṃkhya proposes a permanent solution to suffering.
If we look and see.
And see what produces what we see.”
– TKV Desikachar India 1979 on Sāṃkhya and Yoga
“Sāṃkhya postulates what appears and what causes it to appear.”
– TKV Desikachar India 1979 on Sāṃkhya and Yoga
“Sāṃkhya and its aspects, what are the characteristics?
1. What is seen – The effect
2. What is not seen – The cause
3. What sees – Something other than cause and effect
The relationship between these three is discussed in Sāṃkhya philosophy.”
– TKV Desikachar India 1979 on Sāṃkhya and Yoga
Commentary by S Ramaswami:
“Sāṃ- Total or Exact
Khya- Means to enlighten. Clarify the Universal Concept.
Thus Sāṃkhya counts and describes the various principles in the universe.
Sāṃkhya does not prescribe to the Brahmin Theory.
Rather, leaving this to be debated and deal with what can be proved.
Sāṃkhya deals with the difference between Puruṣa and Prakṛti.
Puruṣa – Cosmic Spirit. Supreme Consciousness. Pure Spirit. Eternal. Indestructible and all pervasive.
It is without activity and attribute, without parts and form.
It is the ultimate principle that regulates, guides and directs the process of cosmic evolution, the efficient cause of the universe that gives the appearance of consciousness to all manifestations of matter.
It is the unevolved which does not evolve.
The uncaused which is not the cause of any made being.
Prakṛti – Cosmic Substance. Primal Nature.
The Primary source of all things.
The unevolved which does evolve. The uncaused cause of phenomenal existence.
It eternal, indestructible and all-pervasive.
It is formless, limitless, immobile and immanent.
It consists of three constituents.
Also called Pradhāna and Avyakta.
Sāṃkhya deals with the difference between Puruṣa and Prakṛti and the various aspects of nature.
In order to transcend or find Kaivalya one must understand the aspects of nature such as Triguṇa.
Sāṃkhya is admitted to be one of the oldest Darśana of Indian Philosophy.
Based on the teaching of the Sage Kapila.
The Sāṃkhya Kārikā of Īśvara Kṛṣna is based on the Sāṃkhya Pravacana of Kapila.
The teaching, handed down generation by generation, condenses into the Karika.”
Commentary by Paul Harvey:
“Sāṃkhya is about living more within that which doesn’t change,
rather than living more within that which does change.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers
“The mutual aim of Yoga and Sāṃkhya is to experience the more discerning aspects of the psyche, rather than just the more grasping aspects of the psyche.
In the former, the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately prevails over the tendency of Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately.
In the latter, the tendency of the Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately prevails over the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately.
The former is a state known as Buddhi Sattva, where the clarity of discernment prevails over the indiscriminate grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
The latter is a state of Buddhi Tamas, where the discerning clarity of the Buddhi is obscured by the grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
Thus our Yoga Sādhana has but one primary Saṃkalpa,
that of the reduction of the obscuration by Tamas in the Buddhi. This reduction of Tamas facilitates the advent of the clarity of Sattva, as in the metaphor of the reduction of the cloud facilitates the advent of the sun.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49