8 Philosophies, Cults and Gurus · 8.1 Philosophies and Gurus
8.1.1 Six darshanas and the Vedanta schools compared
The six orthodox darshanas (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta) accept the Veda's authority; Vedanta then split into schools, chiefly Shankara's Advaita, Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, Madhva's Dvaita and Nimbarka's Dvaitadvaita, which differ on how the soul, the world and Brahman are related.
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Core facts
- Darshana: the plain meaning is "seeing"; in philosophy it is a viewpoint for knowing the world, the soul, bondage and moksha.
- Astika does not mean "believes in God": it means one that accepts the Veda's authority (pramanya): the six darshanas (Shad-darshanas). Nastika (reject it): Charvaka/Lokayata (materialism, attributed to Brihaspati), Buddhism, Jainism (and the Ajivikas).
- Six darshanas, founders and texts:
| Darshana | Founder | Basic text | Core idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyaya | Gautama (Akshapada) | Nyaya Sutras | Logic; valid means of knowledge |
| Vaisheshika | Kanada (Uluka) | Vaisheshika Sutras | Atoms (paramanu); categories (padarthas) |
| Sankhya | Kapila | Ishvarakrishna's Sankhya Karika (oldest surviving); the Sankhya Sutras are late | Purusha and prakriti; 25 tattvas |
| Yoga | Patanjali | Yoga Sutras | Ashtanga yoga; stilling the mind |
| Purva Mimamsa | Jaimini | Mimamsa Sutras | Vedic ritual and dharma (karma kanda) |
| Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta) | Badarayana (Vyasa) | Brahma Sutras | Brahman (jnana kanda, Upanishads) |
- Pairs: Nyaya–Vaisheshika (grew into one tradition), Sankhya–Yoga, Mimamsa–Vedanta.
- Main emphasis: Nyaya logic (tarka); Vaisheshika the nature of substances; Sankhya Prakriti and Purusha; Yoga practice (sadhana); Purva Mimamsa Vedic rites; Uttara Mimamsa knowledge of Brahman.
- Classical Sankhya is Nirishvara (no creator Ishvara), yet it is astika because it accepts the Veda.
- Names for release: Nyaya Apavarga; Sankhya and Yoga Kaivalya; Vishishtadvaita Vishnu-sayujya. Four paths to moksha: Bhakti, Karma, Raja and Jnana yoga.
- Prasthanatraya (three bases of Vedanta): Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita. Every Vedanta acharya comments on all three.
- Brahma Sutras are also called Vedanta Sutras and Shariraka Sutras; 4 adhyayas (about 555 sutras in Shankara's text).
- Vedanta schools:
| School | Acharya | Brahma Sutra commentary | Soul and Brahman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advaita (non-dualism) | Adi Shankaracharya | Shariraka (Brahma Sutra) Bhashya | Identical; world is maya |
| Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) | Ramanujacharya | Sri Bhashya | One Brahman with souls and matter as his body |
| Dvaita (dualism) | Madhvacharya | Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Anubhashya | Eternally different |
| Dvaitadvaita (difference-cum-non-difference) | Nimbarka | Vedanta Parijata Saurabha | Both different and non-different |
| Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism) | Vallabhacharya | Anubhashya | World is real, a form of Krishna; no maya |
| Achintya Bhedabheda | Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | (Govinda Bhashya, by Baladeva Vidyabhushana) | Inconceivably one and different |
- Shankara: guru Govinda Bhagavatpada, whose guru was Gaudapada (Mandukya Karika). Born at Kaladi (Kerala). Founder of the Chaturamnaya Peethas (four mathas).
- Shankara's works: Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Gita Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashyas; Vivekachudamani, Upadesha Sahasri, Prashnottara (Ratna) Malika, Bhaja Govindam, Saundarya Lahari, Shivananda Lahari and many stotras.
- Four disciples: Padmapada, Sureshvara (formerly Mandana Mishra, husband of Ubhaya Bharati), Hastamalaka, Totaka.
- Bhamati (commentary on Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya): Vachaspati Mishra, named after his wife.
- Ramanuja: born Sriperumbudur; first teacher Yadava Prakasha (an Advaitin); initiated in the line of Yamunacharya (Alavandar) by Periya Nambi. Preacher of the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya; made the Pancharatra Agama popular. Lord in 5 forms: Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryami, Archa.
- Ramanuja's works: Sri Bhashya, Vedartha Sangraha, Vedanta Sara, Vedanta Dipa, Gita Bhashya, Gadya Traya (Sharanagati, Sriranga, Vaikuntha Gadya).
- Madhva: also Ananda Tirtha and Purnaprajna; born at Pajaka near Udupi; guru Achyutapreksha. Works: Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Anubhashya, Anuvyakhyana, Gita Bhashya, Gita Tatparya Nirnaya, Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya. Founded the Udupi Krishna temple and its eight mathas. Three classes of jivas.
- Raghavendra Swami (Raghavendra Tirtha) belongs to Madhva's Dvaita tradition; his Brindavan is at Mantralayam.
Explained
Pramanas (valid means of knowledge).
| School | Number | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Charvaka | 1 | Perception only |
| Vaisheshika, Buddhists | 2 | Perception, inference |
| Sankhya, Yoga | 3 | + verbal testimony (shabda) |
| Nyaya | 4 | + comparison (upamana) |
| Prabhakara Mimamsa | 5 | + postulation (arthapatti) |
| Bhatta Mimamsa, Advaita | 6 | + non-apprehension (anupalabdhi) |
Each darshana in a few lines.
- Nyaya: knowledge must be tested by proof, not taken on belief; God is the maker of the world. Classic commentary: Vatsyayana's Nyaya Bhashya. Navya-Nyaya (new logic): Gangesha of Mithila, Tattvachintamani.
- 16 padarthas (topics of enquiry), from Pramana (first and most important: the means of right knowledge) to Nigrahasthana (point of defeat): Pramana, Prameya, Samshaya, Prayojana, Drishtanta, Siddhanta, Avayava, Tarka, Nirnaya, Vada, Jalpa, Vitanda, Hetvabhasa, Chhala, Jati, Nigrahasthana.
- Four pramanas: Pratyaksha (perception), Anumana (inference: fire inferred from smoke seen on a distant hill), Upamana (comparison), Shabda (verbal testimony).
- When right knowledge removes ignorance, the cause of sorrow, the soul is released from sorrow: Apavarga (moksha).
- Vaisheshika: the world is made of eternal, very subtle atoms (paramanu), so it is India's old atomic theory. Six categories: substance (dravya), quality (guna), action (karma), generality (samanya), particularity (vishesha), inherence (samavaya); non-existence (abhava) was added later as the seventh. It also studies time, direction, soul and mind. The name comes from vishesha: every object has its own distinguishing mark.
- Sankhya: two eternal realities, conscious purusha (many) and inert prakriti made of three gunas, sattva, rajas, tamas; creation starts when their balance is disturbed. Effect already exists in the cause (satkaryavada; Nyaya–Vaisheshika hold the opposite, asatkaryavada). Classical Sankhya has no Ishvara (Nirishvara Sankhya).
- 25 tattvas: Mula-prakriti → Mahat (Buddhi) → Ahankara → Manas, 5 jnanendriyas, 5 karmendriyas, 5 tanmatras, 5 mahabhutas (24 in all), plus Purusha = 25.
- Bondage is taking body and mind for the self; the discriminating knowledge "I am the Purusha, not the body or mind" frees it: Kaivalya.
- Kapila is an avatara of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana (son of Kardama and Devahuti); in Skandha 3 he teaches Sankhya and bhakti to his mother (the Kapila Gita).
- Yoga: Sankhya gives the theory, Yoga the practice. It accepts Sankhya's tattvas and adds Ishvara, a special Purusha (Purusha-vishesha) untouched by kleshas, karma and its fruits. Ishvara-pranidhana (surrender to Ishvara) is a key means. Yoga Sutras: 4 padas (Samadhi, Sadhana, Vibhuti, Kaivalya). Definition: chitta-vritti nirodha (stilling the movements of the mind). Goal: Kaivalya. Classic commentary: Vyasa's Yoga Bhashya.
- Ashtanga (in order): yama (ethical rules), niyama (personal discipline), asana (steady posture), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawing the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (unbroken meditation), samadhi (the highest absorption).
- Purva Mimamsa (also Karma Mimamsa): explains the Veda's karma-kanda (yajnas and duties). The Veda is eternal and authorless (apaurusheya), so it is the final authority on dharma. A rite yields its fruit later through an unseen power (apurva). It does not try to prove a creator God. Largest sutra text (12 adhyayas). Commentators: Shabara; then Kumarila Bhatta (Bhatta school) and Prabhakara (Prabhakara school).
- Four kinds of karma: nitya (daily, obligatory), naimittika (on special occasions), kamya (done for a desired fruit), nishiddha (forbidden).
- Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa): the word means the end, or final purport, of the Vedas; it teaches the Upanishads' Brahma-vidya through the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana (traditionally Veda Vyasa).
Moksha in each school.
| School | What moksha is |
|---|---|
| Nyaya | Apavarga: release from sorrow by right knowledge |
| Sankhya | Kaivalya: knowing Purusha as distinct from Prakriti |
| Yoga | Kaivalya through nirvikalpa samadhi with Ishvara-pranidhana |
| Purva Mimamsa | Doing nitya karmas and avoiding nishiddha ones |
| Advaita | Experience that Brahman and Atma are one (Brahmadvaitanubhuti) |
| Vishishtadvaita | Vishnu-sayujya; Ramanuja rates Bhagavat-sayujya (union with God while staying distinct and enjoying Him) above bare (kevala) moksha |
| Dvaita | By bhakti and jnana; even in moksha soul and God stay separate |
Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita compared.
| Question | Advaita (Shankara) | Vishishtadvaita (Ramanuja) | Dvaita (Madhva) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brahman | Nirguna, without attributes | Saguna: Narayana with all good qualities | Vishnu, fully independent (svatantra) |
| Soul (jiva) | Same as Brahman | Real, part of Brahman's body | Real, eternally distinct, dependent |
| World | Appearance (maya, mithya) | Real, Brahman's body | Real, distinct from God |
| Path | Knowledge (jnana) | Bhakti and surrender (prapatti) | Bhakti with knowledge; God's grace |
| Release | Soul merges, knows it is Brahman | Soul serves God in Vaikuntha, keeps individuality | Soul enjoys bliss by its own grade |
- Advaita in one sentence: Brahma satyam jagan mithya jivo brahmaiva naparah (Brahman is real, the world is unreal, the soul is none other than Brahman). Error is superimposition (adhyasa); the world is an apparent change (vivarta) of Brahman, like a rope seen as a snake.
- Vishishtadvaita: three realities (tattvatraya): chit (souls), achit (matter), Ishvara. Souls and matter are the body of God (sharira–shariri), so Brahman is one but "qualified" by them.
- Dvaita: five differences (pancha bheda): God–soul, God–matter, soul–soul, soul–matter, matter–matter. Hari sarvottama, Vayu jivottama (Vishnu is supreme, Vayu the highest soul; Madhva is held to be the third avatar of Vayu after Hanuman and Bhima). Three classes of jivas: mukti-yogya (fit for release), nitya-samsarin (ever in rebirth), tamo-yogya (bound for darkness).
- Dvaitadvaita (Nimbarka): souls and the world are both different from and one with Brahman, as waves are with the sea; worship of Radha–Krishna; short work Dashashloki.
Shankara's four mathas (Chaturamnaya Peethas).
| Direction | Matha | Veda | Mahavakya; first head |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | Sringeri (Sharada Peetham), Karnataka | Yajurveda | Aham Brahmasmi; Sureshvara |
| West | Dwaraka (Kalika/Sharada Peetham), Gujarat | Samaveda | Tat tvam asi; Hastamalaka |
| East | Puri (Govardhana Peetham), Odisha | Rigveda | Prajnanam Brahma; Padmapada |
| North | Jyotirmath (Badrinath), Uttarakhand | Atharvaveda | Ayam Atma Brahma; Totaka |
The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham also traces itself to Shankara by its own tradition. Shankara's monks belong to the Dashanami (ten names) orders, such as Giri, Puri, Bharati, Saraswati, Tirtha and Aranya.
Four Vaishnava sampradayas (by tradition): Sri (Ramanuja, from Lakshmi), Brahma (Madhva), Rudra (Vishnuswami, later Vallabha), Kumara/Sanaka (Nimbarka).
AP angle
- Mantralayam (Kurnool district, on the Tungabhadra): Brindavan of Raghavendra Swami (Dvaita); the matha is the Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matham.
- Ahobilam (Nandyal district): seat of the Ahobila Matham, a Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava matha (founder Adi Van Satakopa Jeeyar), which looks after the nine Narasimha shrines.
- Tirumala: Sri Vaishnava tradition credits Ramanuja with organising worship at Tirumala and setting up the Pedda Jeeyar and Chinna Jeeyar mathas that still supervise the temple's rituals. The temple itself follows the Vaikhanasa Agama.
- Chattada (Sattada) Srivaishnavas follow Ramanuja's philosophy (asked in 2023).
- Pushpagiri Peetham (YSR Kadapa district) is an Advaita matha in Andhra; tradition says Shankara composed Shivananda Lahari at Srisailam.
Common traps
- ✗ "Madhva taught Dvaitadvaita" (the course book's chapter title and the syllabus say so). ✓ Madhva taught Dvaita; Dvaitadvaita is Nimbarka's.
- ✗ "Shankara's guru was Gaudapada." ✓ Govinda Bhagavatpada; Gaudapada was his guru's guru.
- ✗ "Sri Bhashya is Shankara's commentary." ✓ It is Ramanuja's; Shankara's is the Shariraka Bhashya.
- ✗ "Bhamati was written by Padmapada." ✓ By Vachaspati Mishra.
- ✗ "Ubhaya Bharati was Kumarila Bhatta's wife." ✓ She was Mandana Mishra's wife.
- ✗ "Kapila wrote the Mimamsa Sutras." ✓ Jaimini wrote them; Kapila founded Sankhya; Gautama, Nyaya; Kanada, Vaisheshika.
- ✗ "The Brahma Sutras are by Patanjali." ✓ By Badarayana; Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras.
- ✗ "Sringeri is linked with the Rigveda." ✓ Sringeri: Yajurveda; Puri: Rigveda; Dwaraka: Samaveda; Jyotirmath: Atharvaveda.
- ✗ "Padmapada headed Dwaraka and Hastamalaka Puri" (the course book's table). ✓ Puri: Padmapada; Dwaraka: Hastamalaka.
- ✗ "Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya is by Ramanuja." ✓ By Madhva.
- ✗ "Pratyabhijna is a Vaishnava school." ✓ It is Kashmir Shaivism.
- ✗ "Astika means a believer in God, so Sankhya is nastika." ✓ Astika = accepts the Veda; Nirishvara Sankhya is astika.
- ✗ "Sankhya has 24 tattvas and Yoga adds Ishvara as the 25th" (the course book's summary). ✓ Sankhya counts 25 (24 of Prakriti + Purusha); Yoga's Ishvara is an extra, 26th principle.
- ✗ "Arthapatti is one of Nyaya's pramanas." ✓ Nyaya has four: pratyaksha, anumana, upamana, shabda; arthapatti is Mimamsa's and Advaita's.
- ✗ "Nyaya calls liberation Kaivalya." ✓ Nyaya: Apavarga; Kaivalya is Sankhya–Yoga's word.
- ✗ "Aham Brahmasmi comes from the Mundaka Upanishad." ✓ Brihadaranyaka; Satyameva Jayate is from the Mundaka.
Quick revision
- Nyaya–Gautama, Vaisheshika–Kanada, Sankhya–Kapila, Yoga–Patanjali, Mimamsa–Jaimini, Vedanta–Badarayana.
- Nastika: Charvaka (perception only), Buddhism, Jainism; astika = accepts the Veda, so Nirishvara Sankhya is astika.
- Nyaya: 16 padarthas (Pramana first), 4 pramanas, Apavarga; Vaisheshika: atoms, 6 + abhava = 7 padarthas.
- Sankhya: 25 tattvas, Mahat first, Kaivalya; Yoga: chitta-vritti nirodha, 8 limbs, Ishvara-pranidhana; Mimamsa: apurva, nitya-naimittika-kamya-nishiddha.
- Advaita–Shankara; Vishishtadvaita–Ramanuja; Dvaita–Madhva; Dvaitadvaita–Nimbarka; Shuddhadvaita–Vallabha; Sri Bhashya (Ramanuja), Anubhashya (Madhva).
- Shankara: guru Govinda Bhagavatpada; four mathas; Prashnottara Malika.
- Disciples: Padmapada, Sureshvara (Mandana Mishra), Hastamalaka, Totaka; Bhamati = Vachaspati Mishra.
- Ramanuja: Pancharatra, prapatti, Lord in 5 forms; Chattada Srivaishnavas follow him.
- Madhva: five differences, three classes of jivas; Raghavendra at Mantralayam.
- Sringeri–Yajur, Puri–Rig, Dwaraka–Sama, Jyotirmath–Atharva.
Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what APPSC Paper I usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
- Advaita sub-schools: Bhamati (Vachaspati Mishra) and Vivarana (Prakashatman, on Padmapada's Panchapadika). Sureshvara wrote Naishkarmya Siddhi and the vartikas on Shankara's Brihadaranyaka and Taittiriya bhashyas. Vidyaranya of Sringeri (14th century) wrote Panchadashi; his brother Sayana wrote the Veda commentaries under Vijayanagara.
- Shankara and worship: credited with the Shanmata (six modes: Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, Saura, Ganapatya, Kaumara) and the Panchayatana puja of the Smartas, who follow Advaita.
- After Ramanuja: the Sri Vaishnavas split into Vadakalai (northern; Vedanta Desika; the "monkey" view: the soul must cling to God) and Tenkalai (southern; Pillai Lokacharya, Manavala Mamuni; the "cat" view: God carries the soul). Ramanuja's ascetic successors are Jeeyars with the triple staff.
- After Madhva: Jayatirtha (Nyaya Sudha), Vyasatirtha (guru of Purandara Dasa), Raghavendra Tirtha (17th century; Parimala commentary; entered Brindavan at Mantralayam in 1671).
- Other Vedanta and Shaiva systems (useful distractors): Bhedabheda of Bhaskara; Shaiva Siddhanta (Meykandar); Shiva Vishishtadvaita of Srikantha; Shakti Vishishtadvaita of the Veerashaivas (Basaveshwara); Pratyabhijna = Kashmir Shaivism (Somananda, Utpaladeva, Abhinavagupta).
- Anubhashya: two books. Madhva's Anubhashya is a short verse summary of the Brahma Sutras; Vallabha's full Brahma Sutra commentary has the same name. APPSC's 2026 key (EO notification 10/2025) gives Madhva.
- Vallabha and Nimbarka and the Telugu country: tradition makes both acharyas Telugu Brahmins. Vallabha was born at Champaranya (now Chhattisgarh) to a Telugu family on pilgrimage; Nimbarka was born in the south (tradition names the Telugu country) and taught at Vrindavan and Govardhan. The course book makes Nimbarka a 12th-century contemporary of Ramanuja; his date is disputed (placed anywhere from the 7th to the 13th century). His school is also called Bhedabheda, a name shared with Bhaskara's older school.
- Other Vaishnava lines: Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Chaitanya; Radha–Krishna love and sankirtana) and the Ramanandi line (Ramananda: Rama-bhakti in North India; disciples from every class, such as Kabir and Ravidas).
Mains writing Mains writing
- Frame: the six darshanas share one goal, freedom from suffering through right knowledge, but differ on method: logic (Nyaya), analysis of matter (Vaisheshika), discrimination (Sankhya), discipline (Yoga), duty (Mimamsa) and knowledge of Brahman (Vedanta).
- Points:
- Vedanta's three readings of the same Prasthanatraya show the range of the tradition: identity, organic unity, difference.
- Advaita gave the Smarta tradition; Ramanuja and Madhva gave a philosophical base to temple bhakti and to the Agamas.
- Their mathas still run temples, schools and endowments, which is why an EO meets them in practice.
- Example: the Tirumala Jeeyars as a living link between a Vedanta school and temple administration.
Practise this topic. Questions on Darshanas and Vedanta schools, with answers explained.
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