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THE SANKHYA KĀRIKĀ OF
ISWARA KRISHNA.

T

AN EXPOSITION OF THE SYSTEM OF KAPILA.

WITH

AN APPENDIX ON THE NYAYA AND VAISESHIKA

SYSTEMS.

BY

JOHN DAVIES, M.A. (CANTAB.)

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, OF THE CAMBRIDGE PHILOLOGICAL
SOCIETY, ETC., AND (SOMETIME) RECTOR OF WALSOKEN, Norfolk.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER, & CO. LTM

PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD.

1894.

The rights of translation and of reproduction

are reserved.

06-22-46

Hs il

Libr Chicas. 6-11-46 55649

PREFACE.

I WISH to present to my readers the philosophy of Kapila as it has been set forth by his Indian exponent, Ïśwara Krishna. The system of Kapila, called the Sankhya or Rationalistic, in its original form, and in its theistic development by Patanjali, contains nearly all that India has produced in the department of pure philosophy. Other systems, though classed as philosophic, are mainly devoted to logic and physical science, or to an exposition of the Vedas.

The system of Kapila may be said to have only an historical value, but on this account alone it is interesting as a chapter in the history of the human mind. It is the earliest attempt on record to give an answer, from reason alone, to the mysterious questions which arise in every thoughtful mind about the origin of the world, the nature and relations of man, and his future destiny. It is interesting, also, and instructive to note how often the human mind moves in a circle. The latest German philosophy, the system of Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann, is mainly a reproduction of the philosophic system of Kapila in its materialistic part, presented in a more elaborate form, but on the same fundamental lines. In

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