Shad Darshanas (षड्दर्शनानि)

The Six Darsanas (Shad Darshanas, Sanskrit षड्दर्शनानि) are the intellectual section of the Hindu writings. They are schools of philosophy based on the Vedas.

कणादेन तु संप्रोक्तं शास्त्रं वैशेषिकं महत् । गौतमेन तथा न्यायं सांख्यं तु कपिलेन वै ॥

kaṇādena tu saṃproktaṃ śāstraṃ vaiśeṣikaṃ mahat । gautamena tathā nyāyaṃ sāṃkhyaṃ tu kapilena vai ॥

Meaning : The great Vaisheshika shastra has been given by Kanada, while the Nyaya shastra was elucidated by Gautama Rishi, and Sankhya shastra was by Kapila Rishi.

These are the six systems of Hindu philosophy which are known as Shad Darsanas. They are:

1.  न्यायः || Nyaya (Rishi Gautama)
2.  वैशेषिकः || Vaiseshika (Rishi Kanada)
3.  साङ्ख्यः || Samkhya (Kapila Muni)
4.  योगः || Yoga (Maharishi Patanjali)
5.  पूर्वमीमांसा || Poorva Mimamsa (Jaimini)
6. उत्तरमीमांसा || Uttara Mimamsa or वेदान्त || Vedanta (Badrayana or Vyasa) 

Detailed Discussion

Indian Philosophy has six Aastika schools called the Shad-darsana--the six ways of seeing things, the six different schools of thought. The six schools of philosophy are six demonstrations of Truth. Each school has developed, systematised and correlated the various parts of the Veda in its own way. Each system has its Sutrakara, i.e. the one great Rishi, who systematised the doctrines of the school and put them in short aphorisms or Sutras.

The Sutras are terse and laconic. The Rishis have condensed their thoughts in the aphorisms. It is very difficult to understand them without the help of commentaries by great sages or Rishis. Hence, there arose many commentators or Bhashyakaras. These Bhashyas are glosses, notes and commentaries on the original commentaries.

The Shad-Darsanas (the six schools of philosophy) or the Shat-Sastras are: the NYAYA, founded by Gautama Rishi, the VAISESHIKA by Kanada Rishi, the SANKHYA by Kapila Muni, the YOGA by Patanjali Maharshi, the PURVA MIMAMSA by Jaimini, and the UTTARA MIMAMSA or VEDANTA by Badarayana or Vyasa. The Darsanas are divided into three pairs of aphoristic compositions which explain the philosophy of the Vedas in a rationalistic method of approach. They are: the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, the Sankhya and the Yoga, and the Mimamsa and the Vedanta. Each set of Sutras has got its Bhashya, Vritti, Vaartika, Vyakhyanc or Tika and Tippani.

Sutra Svalpaksharam-asandigdham Saravad-visvatomukham Astobham-anavadyam cha Sutram sutravido viduh A Sutra or an aphorism is a short formula with the east possible number of letters, without any ambiguity ►r. doubtful assertion, containing the very essence, j

HINDU SCRIPTURES

embracing all meanings, Without any stop or obstruction and absolutely faultless in nature. The Sutrakara or the composer of the aphorisms is said to be as happy as one would be while getting the first male child, if he is but able to reduce one letter in his abstruse Sutra of far-fetched words and ideas. The best example of the greatest, the tersest and the most perfect of Sutra literature is the series of aphorisms called the Ashtadhyayi composed by Panini. Panini is the father of all Sutrakaras from whom all others seem to have borrowed the method of composition. The Sutras are meant to explain a big volume of knowledge in short assertions suitable to be kept in memory at all times. The six Vedangas and the six systems of Hindu philosophy form the twelve sets of Sutra literature of the world. In addition to these, there are later compositions like the Narada-Bhakti Sutras, the Sandilya-Bhakti Sutras, etc., which also wish to assume an equal form with the famous Sutras mentioned above.