Samkhya Pravachana Sutra
# Samkhya Pravachana Sutra

The Samkhya Pravachana Sutra (Sanskrit: सांख्यप्रवचन सूत्र Sāṁkhyapravacanasūtra) is a collection of major Sanskrit texts of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. It includes the ancient Samkhya Sutra of Kapila, Samkhya karika of Ishvarakrishna, Samkhya Sutra Vritti of Aniruddha, the Bhasya (commentary) of Vijnana Bhikshu, the Vrittisara of Vedantin Mahadeva, Tattva Samasa and commentary of Narendra, and works of Gaudapada, Vachaspati Mishra, and Panchashikha.

The text provides foundational doctrines of one of the influential schools of Hindu philosophy, such as "nothing can come out of nothing, and nothing can altogether vanish out of existence" in its doctrine of Sat-Karya-Siddhanta, a debate on the two theories for the origin of the world - the creationists (Abhava Utpatti) and the evolutionists (Vivarta, changing from one state to another), the doctrine of Parinama (transformation), among others.

Samkhya Pravachana Sutra is also known as Samkhya Sutra.

## Contents

It describes the philosophy of the Samkhya school. The edition that survives in modern times is dated to the 14th century.

The text consists of six chapters. The first three describe core Samkhya doctrines, the fourth chapter describes stories for illustration of the doctrines, the fifth reviews arguments and challenge by rival Indian philosophies particularly Buddhism on one side and Theistic philosophy on the other side, then provides its analysis and answers to those challenges. The last chapter recapitulates its thesis, summarizes its main points and makes conclusions. Major sections and thesis presented in the text include (not exhaustive):

* Samkhya is a Moksha Shastra
* Samkhya is the only true Advaita Shastra
* Samkhya is not in conflict with the Vedas
* The Samkhya plurality of Self (soul) versus the Vedanta unity of Self
* Definition of Supreme Good
* Thesis on Suffering - what it is, and why it happens
* Scripture is inadequate means to enlightenment
* Theory of bondage; Bondage is not natural
* Theory of Naimittika
* Purusha and Prakṛti
* Theory and nature of Prakriti
* Theory of conjunction
* Theory of Vidya and Avidya
* The problem with Sunyavada, Theory of void and its criticism
* Theory of Aviveka
* Doctrines of Yoga and Vedanta
* Theory of learning and reasoning, limits of reason
* Theory of spiritual intuition
* Theory of Gunas
* Twenty five tattvas
* The enumeration theory of Samkhya and Garbha, Prasna and Maitreya Upanishads
* Theory of Tanmatras
* Ahamkara (ego) and its nature
* Roots of Samkhya: Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads
* Theory of prakriti evolution, objection of logicians
* The "root cause is rootless" doctrine
* The chain of causality and the primary causality
* Why Prakriti, not Purusha, is the material cause
* The "world is not unreal" doctrine
* The "why nothing come out of nothing" doctrine
* The "rituals can never become the cause of moksha" doctrine
* The "freedom from samsara is not the result of Karma" doctrine
* The "knowledge leads to release, and this is not perishable" doctrine
* Theory of "process of knowing" and three kinds of pramana (epistemology)
* Theory of existent effects, what is existence and what is non-existence
* The purpose of creation, the cause of successive creation
* The theory of space and time
* The theory of manas (mind), sensory organs, cognition, and human nature
* Sources of knowledge
* The rebirth doctrine
* The Jivanmukti doctrine (liberation while alive) and the theory of Viveka
* Fables
* Review of opposite theories and objections, the Samkhya answers

The most important commentary on the text is Vijñānabhikṣu’s Sāṁkhyapravacanabhāṣya (16th century). Other important commentaries on this text include Anirruddha's Kāpilasāṁkhyapravacanasūtravṛtti (15th century), Mahādeva’s Sāṁkhyapravacanasūtravṛttisāra (c. 1600) and Nāgeśa’s Laghusāṁkhyasūtravṛtti.

