---
type: Reference
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.2"
id: samkhya-karika
title: "Sāṃkhya Kārikā"
description: "Ishvarakrishna's root text of classical Samkhya; source of the tattva scaffolding the Puranas inherit."
timestamp: "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z"
iast: "Sāṃkhya Kārikā"
devanagari: "सांख्य कारिका"
text: "Sāṃkhya Kārikā"
text_division: "72 Kārikās (verses)"
language: "Classical Sanskrit"
approximate_date: "c. 350-450 CE (Īśvarakṛṣṇa)"
tags: [samkhya, philosophy, tattva, prakriti, purusha, trigunas, elements, darshana]
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Sāṃkhya Kārikā

## Text Overview

The Sāṃkhya Kārikā of Īśvarakṛṣṇa is the foundational text of classical Sāṃkhya philosophy, comprising 72 kārikās (concise philosophical verses) that systematically present the Sāṃkhya cosmological and metaphysical system. It is the oldest surviving systematic Sāṃkhya text and the basis for all subsequent commentary (Gauḍapāda's Bhāṣya, Vācaspati's Sāṃkhya-Tattva-Kaumudī). The text gives the complete 25-tattva (category) analysis of reality.

## The 25 Tattvas (Cosmological Categories)

The Sāṃkhya Kārikā establishes the ontological framework that underlies all subsequent Indian cosmology:

**Two irreducible realities:**
- Puruṣa (pure consciousness; witness; not a creator; multiple; untouched by Prakṛti)
- Prakṛti (matter-principle; the unmanifest cause of all manifestation; one)

**23 evolved tattvas from Prakṛti:**
1. Mahat / Buddhi (cosmic intellect; first evolute of Prakṛti)
2. Ahaṃkāra (ego-principle; individualizing force)
3-7. Five Tanmātras (subtle sense-essences: Śabda, Sparśa, Rūpa, Rasa, Gandha)
8-12. Five Mahābhūtas (gross elements: Ākāśa, Vāyu, Tejas, Ap, Pṛthivī)
13-17. Five Jñānendriyas (sense organs: ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose)
18-22. Five Karmendriyas (action organs: speech, hands, feet, reproductive, eliminatory)
23. Manas (mind; coordinates sense and action organs)

## Key Kārikās for Cosmology-Creation Bundle

**Kārikā 11-13 (Triguṇas):** Definition of Sattva (lightness, luminosity), Rajas (activity, stimulation), Tamas (heaviness, obstruction) as the three strands of all Prakṛti; their qualities and interactions; Sattva enables pleasure and consciousness-reflection; Rajas enables activity; Tamas enables inertia and form-holding.

**Kārikā 22-38 (Tattva Sequence):** The complete derivation sequence from Avyakta (Mūlaprakṛti) through Mahat, Ahaṃkāra, the tanmātras, and the Pañcamahābhūtas; each evolute arises when the Guṇa balance shifts; Tamas increases toward the gross elements.

**Kārikā 3 (Satkāryavāda):** The effect pre-exists in its cause -- one of the most important philosophical propositions for the entire Sṛṣṭi framework. The cosmos does not arise from nothing (ex nihilo) but from Avyakta as its inherent potential; manifestation (Sṛṣṭi) is the actualization of what was always implicitly present in the causal ground.

**Kārikā 17 (Puruṣa as Witness):** Puruṣa is established as the pure witness (sākṣin), distinct from Prakṛti; the apparent bondage arises from the confusion of Puruṣa with Prakṛti's evolutes (Viveka-khyāti = discriminative knowledge resolves this).

## Sāṃkhya vs. Vedānta on Cosmology

The Sāṃkhya Kārikā and Vedānta share the tattva framework but differ on key points:
- **Puruṣa**: Sāṃkhya posits many Puruṣas (one per individual); Advaita posits one Brahman (Puruṣa is one)
- **God (Īśvara)**: Classical Sāṃkhya is technically nirīśvara (without a personal God); Vedānta inserts Brahman/Īśvara as the ultimate substrate
- **Pañcīkaraṇa**: Advaita adds the fivefold combination process for gross element derivation; Sāṃkhya has direct tanmātra-to-mahābhūta evolution
- **Satkāryavāda**: Both agree; the effect pre-exists in the cause

## Primary Concepts Using This Reference

- avyakta.md (Mūlaprakṛti / Pradhāna)
- trigunas-cosmological.md (primary -- Kārikā 11-13)
- panchamahabhuta-cosmological.md (primary -- Kārikā 22-38)
- srishti.md (Satkāryavāda; tattva sequence)
- hiranyagarbha.md (Sūtrātman / cosmic Mahat)
- purusha-sukta.md (Puruṣa concept comparison)
