Kaṇāda
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Materialism in Indian Philosophy
M. N. Roy traces ancient Indian materialism from Vedic rebellions to its culmination in Cārvāka thought. Challenging priestly orthodoxy, early naturalists developed Kaṇāda’s atomist Vaiśeṣika and Kapila’s empirical Sāṃkhya systems. By grounding reality in matter, perception, and mechanistic natural laws, these rationalist currents dismantled Vedic theology, paving the way for Buddhist Enlightenment.
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Elements of Materialism in the Nyaya and Vaisesika Philosophy
Founded by Gotama and Kaṇāda, the Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika systems contain significant materialist foundations. Nyāya emphasizes empirical logic and sensory perception as primary tools for acquiring reliable knowledge. Meanwhile, Vaiśeṣika introduces early atomism, proposing that indivisible, eternal physical atoms interact in space under natural laws to construct all observable reality and consciousness.