Orthodoxy
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Lokayata
This historical survey traces the evolution of Cārvāka materialism and Lokāyata thought across ancient Sanskrit, Buddhist, and Jaina literature. It examines key heretical figures, textual references, radical critiques of orthodoxy, and connections to the Bṛhaspati Sūtra and Kapālika traditions, uncovering the enduring influence of Indian materialist philosophy on economics and erotics.
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Reasoners and Religious Law-makers: An Ancient Indian Case Study
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya examines how orthodox Indian Dharmaśāstras systematically vilified rationalist freethinkers. Terms like haituka—originally meaning reasoner—were conflated with nāstika to brand dissenters as heretics. Despite severe scriptural condemnation and social stigmatization in epics like the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, rationalist inquiry persisted through Cārvāka and Lokāyata traditions.