CHARVAKA

Rationalism. Secularism. Freedom

Carvaka Sutra

  • The Base Text and Its Commentaries
    Problems of Representing and Understanding the Cārvāka/Lokāyata

    RAMKRISHNA BHATTACHARYA

    Ancient Indian philosophical sūtras are terse aphorisms requiring balanced reading alongside commentaries. Relying solely on either literal texts or commentaries leads to misunderstandings. Opponents of Cārvāka/Lokāyata like Jayanta Bhaṭṭa and Hemacandra failed to maintain this crucial balance, resulting in misrepresentations of materialist doctrines in their polemical works.

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    Carvaka Philosophy : A New Look

    SUBHENDU SARKAR

    This concise review of Ramkrishna Bhattacharya’s Studies on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata highlights its crucial role in reconstructing ancient Indian materialism. By analyzing rare fragments and Perso-Arabic sources, Bhattacharya disproves charges of unbridled hedonism, clarifies Cārvāka epistemology regarding inference, and restores a lost tradition of rationalism, skepticism, and rigorous debate.