Samkhya and the Taoism of Ancient China

Robin Ghosh

Abstract: According to some scholars the one was the primary other, the two refers to the separation of the other into yin and yang constituents, and the three may be interpreted as the production of heaven, earth and man by Yin-Yan: from them, all other things have been produced. The classical samkhya also believes in the process of the gradual and spontaneous unfoldment of different categories from Prakrti in a similar fashion. Both samkhya and the Taoism have discovered order system and pattern in the evolutionary flow of Nature. Nature is non divine but it is not a non-living chaos. The samkhya believes in the operation of the regulative forces of nature which present the currents of evolution from flowing in a chaotic manner. Just as the Tao possesses The in the same manner. Prakrti also possesses niyamakas or the regulative forces to cause matter and energy flow in definite patterns. Both the Taoism and the samkhya between that in the process of evolution, the multifarious potentialities of Nature are getting manifested in diverse ways. The effects are of the same nature as the cause. While the samkhya says that by knowing the effects, we can know the cause, the Taoists assert that if the Tao is known, everything will be understood, "When the mother is found, we know what her children should be". So, using the terminology of Indian philosophy, we can say that the Taoists of ancient China, too, were (in some sense) the supporters of satkaryavada.

Keywords: Taoism, Samkhya, Naturalism, Samkhya Karika, Chinese Philosophy

How to Cite?: Robin Ghosh, "Samkhya and the Taoism of Ancient China", Volume 14 Issue 8, August 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1644-1646, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25901104307, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25901104307