Part of a series on |
Hindu scriptures and texts |
---|
Related Hindu texts |
The Samkhyakarika (Sanskrit: सांख्यकारिका, Sāṁkhyakārikā) is the earliest surviving text of the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy.[1][2] The text's original composition date is unknown, but its terminus ad quem (completed before) date has been established through its Chinese translation that became available by 569 CE.[3] It is attributed to Ishvara Krishna (Iśvarakṛṣṇa, 350 CE).[4]
In the text, the author described himself as a successor of the disciples from the great sage Kapila, through Āsuri and Pañcaśikha. His Sāṁkhya Kārikā consists of 72 ślokas written in the Ārya metre, with the last verse asserting that the original Samkhya Karika had only 70 verses.[5]
The earliest important commentary on his Kārikā was written by Gaudapada.[1] Yuktidipika, whose medieval era manuscript editions were discovered and published about mid 20th-century, is among the most significant extant review and commentary on Samkhyakarika.[1][6]
The Sāṁkhya Kārikā was translated into Chinese in the 6th-century CE.[7] In 1832, Christian Lassen translated the text in Latin. H.T. Colebrooke first translated this text into English. Windischmann and Lorinser translated it into German, and Pautier and St. Hilaire translated it into French.