Nastika Darshanas: Charvaka, Bauddha and Jaina
Nastika Darshanas: Charvaka, Bauddha and Jaina
Nāstika means not accepting Vedic authority. It does not mean atheist or immoral. The exam tests doctrines and pramāṇa positions.
Cārvāka/Lokāyata
- Materialist system associated with Bṛhaspati.
- Accepts pratyakṣa alone; rejects anumāna as unreliable because vyāpti cannot be perceived.
- Denies ātman, punarjanma, karma, Īśvara and afterlife.
Bauddha
- Four noble truths; pratītyasamutpāda; anātman; kṣaṇikavāda.
- Schools: Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntika, Yogācāra, Mādhyamika.
- Dignāga and Dharmakīrti accept pratyakṣa and anumāna.
Jaina
- Mahāvīra; ahiṃsā; jīva and ajīva; bandha and mokṣa.
- Anekāntavāda; syādvāda; nayavāda.
- Pramāṇas include pratyakṣa, anumāna and āgama.
Worked example Cārvāka rejects inference because it depends on vyāpti, which is not perceived. Bauddha accepts inference but rejects a permanent self. Jaina uses syādvāda to assert that reality is many-sided, so apparently opposed predicates can both be true from different standpoints.
Traps
- Translating nāstika as atheist.
- Saying Bauddha has no pramāṇa theory.
- Reducing Cārvāka to hedonism only.
- Confusing syādvāda with scepticism.