---
type: Concept
bundle: sankhya-darshana
bundle_version: 0.13.0
id: samkhya-karika
title: Sāṃkhya-Kārikā (as concept)
iast: Sāṃkhya-Kārikā
devanagari: सांख्यकारिका
description: The primary text of classical Samkhya -- 72 teaching stanzas by Isvarakrishna (c. 4th-5th century CE), treated here as an index-anchor concept naming the text's role and structure, complementary to its full Reference entry.
darshana:
- Samkhya
tags:
- samkhya-karika
- text
- isvarakrishna
- primary-source
not:
- term: a late or minor Samkhya text
  why: The Samkhya-Karika is the single most important extant systematic text of classical Samkhya -- not a late derivative summary but the foundational systematization against which nearly all later Samkhya commentary (Gaudapada, Vachaspati Mishra's Tattva-Kaumudi) is written.
related:
- /concepts/kapila.md
- /concepts/satkaryavada.md
timestamp: '2026-07-10'
okf_version: '0.2'
license: CC BY-SA 4.0
---

# Sāṃkhya-Kārikā (as concept) -- सांख्यकारिका

**Not:** a late or minor Samkhya text

## What It Actually Means

The Sāṃkhya-Kārikā, composed by Īśvarakṛṣṇa around the 4th-5th century CE, is 72 teaching stanzas that give classical Sāṃkhya its systematic, extant form: the satkāryavāda argument (Kārikā 9), the 25-tattva structure with puruṣa's plurality, the triguṇa apparatus, and the viveka-khyāti path to kaivalya are all stated or implied within this single compact text. Nearly every later Sāṃkhya commentary, including Gauḍapāda's bhāṣya and Vācaspati Miśra's Tattva-Kaumudī, takes the Kārikā as its base text.

## Audience Metaphor

The Sāṃkhya-Kārikā functions for this darśana the way a tight, foundational specification document functions for a whole software ecosystem -- compact, load-bearing, and the reference point every later implementation and commentary has to stay compatible with.

## Citations

1. See the full Reference entry: [references/samkhya-karika.md](../references/samkhya-karika.md)
