Prelims 2013 · archive
MediumWith reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Sankhya school:
- 1.Sankhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of the soul.
- 2.Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Sankhya, founded by Kapila, is a dualist school of purusha and prakriti. It accepts rebirth (the soul's cycle of births) and teaches that liberation comes from discriminating knowledge of the self, with no creator's grace involved.
- ✗ 1. Sankhya does accept rebirth: the soul remains bound in the cycle of births until it attains discriminating knowledge.
- ✓ 2. Liberation (kaivalya) comes only from the knowledge that purusha is distinct from prakriti, not from an external agent or god.
Remember · Sankhya (Kapila): purusha-prakriti dualism, accepts rebirth, liberation by discriminating self-knowledge.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 2 “Maharṣi Kapila is unanimously regarded as the founder of Sāṅkhya system.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 2013: the answer shown is the one the sources above support. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·