Canonical Definition
A darśana is a complete system of Indian philosophy — a 'way of seeing' reality, defended by reasoned argument. The tradition classically counts six orthodox (āstika) darśanas that accept the authority of the Veda: Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta. Each is a rigorous, internally coherent account of what exists, how we know it, and how liberation is achieved.
Etymology: Sanskrit darśana — 'seeing, viewpoint, vision,' from dṛś (to see). A darśana is both a 'view' of reality and a means of 'seeing' the truth directly.
Philosophy as a path to liberation
The darśanas are the classical schools of Indian philosophy. The word means "a way of seeing" — and each darśana is exactly that: a complete, reasoned vision of reality, defended against rivals through some of the most sophisticated argumentation in world philosophy.
What distinguishes Indian philosophy from much of the Western tradition is its goal. These are not systems built for curiosity alone. Every darśana aims ultimately at mokṣa — liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. Logic, metaphysics, and epistemology are developed in the service of that practical end.
Āstika and nāstikaThe schools are classically divided into āstika (those accepting the authority of the Veda) and nāstika (those rejecting it — Buddhism, Jainism, and the materialist Cārvāka). This Codex documents the six āstika darśanas and their major later developments.
The six are traditionally paired: Nyāya with Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya with Yoga, and Mīmāṃsā with Vedānta — each pair sharing a broad orientation while differing in emphasis.
The six āstika darśanas
1
Nyāya — the school of logic and epistemology. It develops the theory of valid knowledge (pramāṇa) and a formal logic of inference, and argues for the existence of the self and God through reason.
2
Vaiśeṣika — the school of natural philosophy. It analyses reality into categories (padārtha) and proposes an atomic theory of matter. Closely allied to Nyāya.
3
Sāṃkhya — the dualist cosmology. It divides reality into puruṣa (pure consciousness) and prakṛti (nature), and maps the evolution of the world through twenty-five principles (tattvas).
4
Yoga — Sāṃkhya's practical counterpart, systematised by Patañjali. It adds a method — the eight limbs — and a personal God (Īśvara) for stilling the mind toward liberation.
5
Mīmāṃsā — the philosophy of Vedic ritual and interpretation. It develops a rigorous hermeneutics of sacred text and a theory of dharma as ritual obligation.
6
Vedānta — "the end of the Veda," built on the Upaniṣads. The most influential darśana in later Hinduism, it splits into the great sub-schools of Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Dvaita.
The dominance of Vedānta
Of the six schools, Vedānta became the most influential in the second millennium and remains so today. Built on the prasthānatrayī — the three foundations of the Upaniṣads, the Brahma Sūtras, and the Bhagavad Gītā — it asks one central question: what is the relationship between the self (ātman), ultimate reality (Brahman), and the world?
The answers divide Vedānta into its major sub-schools:
Advaita (Śaṅkara, 8th c.) — non-dualism: ātman and Brahman are utterly identical; the world's separateness is a superimposition (māyā). Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja, 11th c.) — qualified non-dualism: the self and world are real and form the "body" of a personal God. Dvaita (Madhva, 13th c.) — dualism: the self and God are eternally and really distinct.
Beyond the classical sixThis Codex also documents Kashmir Shaivism — a sophisticated non-dual Śaiva philosophy outside the classical six — and a dedicated comparison of how Yoga, Advaita, and Kashmir Shaivism each understand the mind.
These are not merely historical positions. Each sub-school remains a living tradition with active lineages, temples, and commentarial scholarship.