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Appendix - D: Sākhya System
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That he belonged to Sramapa-tradition is also clear by a reference to him in 'Baudhayana Dharma Sūtra' which says that Kapila was an Asura, Prahlada's son, who instituted the life of renunciation or Samnyása. He is said to have converted a Brahinin named Asuri to renounce the traditional cult of sacrifices to become an ascetic. It is believed that Asurī was his first disciple. Jaina tradition says, without any support of historical data, that Kapila was one of the pupils of the grandson of the first Tirthaikara Rşabha.
Prof. Zimmer2, the well known German Indologist notes about Sääkhya-Yoga as under ;
“The two ideologies are of different origins. Saukhya and Yoga being related to the mechanical system of Jainas which can be traced back in a partly historical and partly legendry way, through long series of Tirthaikaras, to a remote. aboriginal non-Vedic antiquity. The fundamental ideas of Sārkhya and Yoga must be therefore immensely old and yet they do not appear in any orthodox Indian texts until comparatively late - specifically in the younger stratifications of Upanişadas, and Bhagavad-gita where they are already blended and harmonized with the fundamental ideas of Vedic philosophy.”
Thus, it can be safely concluded that Kapila the founder of Saikhya stands beyond the traditional assembly of Vedic saints and belonged to Sramaņa-tradition of Indian thoughi. It is believed that the village 'Kapilavastu', where the Lord Buddha was born, bears its name due to its association witb this sage of Sankhya. Basic Conceptions
The main and basic conceptions of Sankhya-Yoga system can be stated as under :
(1) This universe is founded on the dichotomy of 'Puruşa', a purely conscious and sentient principle, and 'Prakrti' a lifeless matter possessing an inherent power of evolution. 1. Philosophies of India, p. 281.
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