The Six Schools of Hindu Philosophy
An overview of the six classical schools (darshanas) of Hindu philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and how they differ.
Classical Hindu philosophy is traditionally divided into six schools, called the six darshanas. The word darshana means “seeing” or “view”: each school offers a way of seeing reality, and a path to liberation from suffering. The schools debated with one another, and with Buddhist and Jain philosophers, for more than a thousand years, producing some of the most sophisticated philosophy in the world.
Orthodox and heterodox
Indian philosophical schools are traditionally classified by their attitude to the Vedas:
- Astika (“affirming”) schools accept the authority of the Vedas. These are the six darshanas of Hinduism.
- Nastika (“denying”) schools reject it. They include Buddhism, Jainism, the materialist Charvaka (or Lokayata) school and the Ajivikas.
Accepting the Vedas does not mean the six schools agree. Some are theistic and some are not; some are dualist and some non-dualist.
The six schools at a glance
The schools are traditionally grouped in three related pairs:
| School | Founder / root text | Main focus |
|---|---|---|
| Nyaya | Gautama (Akshapada), Nyaya Sutras | Logic, reasoning and how we gain valid knowledge |
| Vaisheshika | Kanada, Vaisheshika Sutras | The categories of reality and atomic theory |
| Samkhya | Kapila; Samkhya Karika of Ishvarakrishna | Dualism of consciousness and matter; the evolution of the world |
| Yoga | Patanjali, Yoga Sutras | Meditation and control of the mind |
| Mimamsa | Jaimini, Mimamsa Sutras | Interpreting Vedic ritual and dharma |
| Vedanta | Badarayana, Brahma Sutras | The nature of Brahman, as taught in the Upanishads |
Sources of knowledge
A central question for all Indian philosophy is how we know what we know. The schools recognise different numbers of valid means of knowledge (pramanas), drawn from this list:
- Pratyaksha: perception.
- Anumana: inference.
- Upamana: comparison or analogy.
- Shabda: reliable testimony, including scripture.
- Arthapatti: postulation (for example, a man who fasts by day but stays fat must eat at night).
- Anupalabdhi: non-perception, used to know that something is absent.
Vedanta: the dominant school
Of the six, Vedanta has become by far the most influential, and it is often taken to represent Hindu philosophy as a whole. Vedanta itself divided into several schools, which disagree about the relationship between God, souls and the world:
- Advaita (non-dualism), taught by Adi Shankara;
- Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), taught by Ramanuja;
- Dvaita (dualism), taught by Madhva;
- and others, including the schools of Nimbarka, Vallabha and the Gaudiya tradition of Chaitanya.
A shared goal
Despite their differences, the schools share the conviction that philosophy is not merely an intellectual exercise. Its purpose is to free human beings from suffering and from the cycle of rebirth (samsara) by removing ignorance about the true nature of the self and the world.
Sources and further reading
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore (eds), A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy (Princeton University Press, 1957).
- M. Hiriyanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy (Allen & Unwin, 1932).
- Jonardon Ganeri, Philosophy in Classical India (Routledge, 2001).