Society & Welfare
Indian Philosophy
Indian Philosophy — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for Indian Philosophy: Upanishads, Gita, Charvaka, Jain, Buddhist, six darshanas and Advaita in tables for Mains GS-IV.
Every concept, school, text and comparison from the chapter on one page. For explanations and answer outlines, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Mains. Bold entries are the definitions and contrasts that examiners return to most often. For each concept, be ready with one line of definition and one line of relevance.
Vedas and Upanishads
| Concept | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Rta (ऋत) | Rig Vedic cosmic, ritual and moral order; guardian Varuna; opposite anrta; later → dharma and karma |
| Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti | Rig Veda 1.164.46: “Truth is one, the wise call it by many names” |
| Upanishads | “Sitting near”; Vedanta; Jnana-kanda; Muktika lists 108; 10–13 principal |
| Brahman | Sat-Chit-Ananda; nirguna (“neti neti”) and saguna (Ishvara) |
| Atman | Witnessing self; beyond five koshas (Taittiriya); turiya (Mandukya) |
| Mahavakyas | Prajnanam Brahma (Aitareya, Rig) · Aham Brahmasmi (Brihadaranyaka, Yajur) · Tat tvam asi (Chandogya, Sama) · Ayam Atma Brahma (Mandukya, Atharva) |
| Katha | Nachiketa and Yama; shreya vs preya; chariot analogy |
| Isha | “Enjoy by renunciation; do not covet” |
| Brihadaranyaka | Neti neti; Yajnavalkya, Maitreyi, Gargi; Da-Da-Da (damyata, datta, dayadhvam) |
| Bondage / freedom | Avidya → karma → samsara; jnana → moksha |
Bhagavad Gita
| Concept | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Text | Bhishma Parva, Mahabharata; 18 chapters, ~700 verses; part of the Prasthanatrayi |
| Karmayoga / nishkama karma | 2.47 “Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana” |
| Samatva / skill | 2.48 samatvam yoga uchyate · 2.50 yogah karmasu kaushalam |
| Sthitaprajna | 2.54–72; tortoise (2.58); ladder of fall (2.62–63); ocean (2.70) |
| Swadharma | 3.35 and 18.47: own duty, though imperfect, is better than another’s |
| Lokasangraha | 3.20, 3.25; leader’s example 3.21 |
| Varna by guna-karma | 4.13 (note Ambedkar’s critique; role-based reading) |
| Gunas | Sattva, rajas, tamas (Ch 14); goal: gunatita |
| Interpreters | Tilak: Gita Rahasya (Mandalay; 1915) · Gandhi: Anasakti Yoga (1930) · Vinoba: Gita Pravachan (Dhule jail, 1932) · Aurobindo: Essays on the Gita · Jnaneshwar: Jnaneshwari |
Charvaka, Jain, Bauddha
| School | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Charvaka / Lokayata | Brihaspati (trad.); perception only; four elements (no akasha); no soul apart from body; no God, rebirth or karma; artha and kama |
| Jain reality | Six dravyas: jiva + pudgala, dharma, adharma, akasha, kala |
| Jain tattvas | Jiva, ajiva, asrava, bandha, samvara, nirjara, moksha; karma is subtle matter |
| Anekantavada | Many-sidedness; nayavada (standpoints); syadvada (“in some respect”); saptabhangi (7-fold) |
| Jain knowledge | Mati, shruta, avadhi, manahparyaya, kevala |
| Buddhist marks | Anicca, dukkha, anatta; five skandhas |
| Pratityasamutpada | Dependent origination; 12 nidanas |
| Kshanikavada | Momentariness |
| Four schools | Vaibhashika (direct realism) · Sautrantika (objects inferred) · Yogachara (Vijnanavada; Asanga, Vasubandhu) · Madhyamika (Shunyavada; Nagarjuna) |
| Buddhist logic | Dignaga, Dharmakirti; perception + inference |
The Six Darshanas
| School | Founder | Text | Remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyaya | Gautama | Nyaya Sutra | 4 pramanas; 16 padarthas; 5-membered inference; Navya-Nyaya (Gangesha) |
| Vaisheshika | Kanada | Vaisheshika Sutra | Paramanu; 6 padarthas + abhava; 9 dravyas |
| Sankhya | Kapila | Sankhya Karika (Ishvarakrishna) | Purusha–prakriti; 3 gunas; 25 tattvas; satkaryavada; kaivalya |
| Yoga | Patanjali | Yoga Sutra | Chitta-vritti-nirodha; 8 limbs; 5 kleshas; accepts Ishvara |
| Purva Mimamsa | Jaimini | Mimamsa Sutra | Dharma = Vedic injunction; apaurusheya Veda; apurva; Kumarila, Prabhakara |
| Vedanta | Badarayana | Brahma Sutra | Prasthanatrayi; Brahman |
| Pramanas | Schools |
|---|---|
| 1 | Charvaka |
| 2 | Buddhist, Vaisheshika |
| 3 | Sankhya, Yoga |
| 4 | Nyaya |
| 5 | Prabhakara Mimamsa |
| 6 | Bhatta Mimamsa, Advaita |
Ashtanga Yoga: Yama · Niyama · Asana · Pranayama · Pratyahara · Dharana · Dhyana · Samadhi (the last three together = samyama).
Advaita and Vedanta Schools
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Shankara | 8th century (trad. 788–820); Kaladi; teacher Govindapada; Gaudapada’s Mandukya Karika |
| Mathas | Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri, Jyotirmath |
| Summary | Brahma satyam jagan mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah |
| Maya / adhyasa | Superimposition; rope–snake; anirvachaniya |
| Vivartavada | Apparent, not real, transformation |
| Three levels | Paramarthika (ultimate) · Vyavaharika (empirical) · Pratibhasika (illusory) |
| Moksha | Realisation; jivanmukti; sadhana chatushtaya; shravana-manana-nididhyasana |
| Vishishtadvaita | Ramanuja: qualified non-dualism; world as Brahman’s body |
| Dvaita | Madhva: five eternal differences |
| Dvaitadvaita | Nimbarka |
| Shuddhadvaita | Vallabhacharya: no maya; Pushtimarg; born Champaran (Raipur district), 1479 |
| Achintya Bhedabheda | Chaitanya |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Astika / nastika: accept / reject the Veda | vs | Theist / atheist: Sankhya and Mimamsa are astika but non-theistic |
| Brahman: ultimate reality | vs | Brahma: creator god |
| Tat tvam asi: Chandogya | vs | Aham Brahmasmi: Brihadaranyaka |
| Sthitaprajna: Gita Ch 2 | vs | Ideal devotee: Gita Ch 12 |
| Nishkama karma: no attachment to fruits | vs | Akarma: inaction (rejected) |
| Jiva (Jain, eternal soul) | vs | Anatta (Buddhist, no permanent self) |
| Yogachara: only consciousness real | vs | Madhyamika: everything empty, even consciousness |
| Parinamavada (Sankhya): real change | vs | Vivartavada (Advaita): apparent change |
| Satkaryavada (Sankhya, Vedanta) | vs | Asatkaryavada (Nyaya-Vaisheshika) |
| Kaivalya (Sankhya–Yoga) | vs | Moksha as identity with Brahman (Advaita) |
| Gaudapada (Mandukya Karika) | vs | Govindapada (Shankara’s teacher) |
| Shuddhadvaita (Vallabha) | vs | Dvaitadvaita (Nimbarka) |
Favourite trap
“Nastika schools are atheistic and astika schools are theistic.” Wrong. The classification is about accepting the authority of the Vedas. Classical Sankhya and Purva Mimamsa do not posit a creator God, yet they are astika. Jainism and Buddhism reject the Vedas but accept karma, rebirth and liberation.
Second favourite trap
“Advaita says the world does not exist.” Wrong. The world is real at the vyavaharika (empirical) level, where duty and ethics apply; it is mithya only from the ultimate (paramarthika) standpoint.
Advertisement