Indian Philosophy: Introduction, Schools and Basic Concepts
What the domain tests
The WBCHSE HS Philosophy paper tests whether you can place a school within the āstika–nāstika classification and explain shared concepts such as dharma, karma, saṃsāra, mokṣa and pramāṇa. A darśana is a systematic viewpoint, not merely an opinion.
Core rules
- Āstika schools accept the authority of the Vedas: Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta.
- Nāstika schools reject Vedic authority: Cārvāka, Buddhism and Jainism.
- Accepting the Vedas is not the same as accepting Īśvara. Mīmāṃsā is āstika but does not postulate a creator God; Sāṃkhya is āstika but also without a creator.
- Cārvāka is nāstika because it rejects Vedic authority and reduces valid knowledge to perception.
- Puruṣārthas: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa; karma and saṃsāra explain continuity of experience.
Worked example
Classify Cārvāka and Sāṃkhya. Cārvāka rejects the Vedas, so it is nāstika. Sāṃkhya cites Vedic authority and accepts the authority of the Vedas, so it is āstika, even though it does not prove a creator God. The reasoning turns on the classification criterion, not on theism.
Traps
Do not call every nāstika school atheistic in the same sense; Buddhism denies a creator but is not materialist. Do not say Sāṃkhya is nāstika because it lacks Īśvara. Do not treat Cārvāka as accepting inference; it accepts pratyakṣa only.