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How did the Carvaka school represent materialism in Indian philosophy?

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Bronze bust of Epicurus with a full beard and draped clothing, displayed on a round inscribed base at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. — Materialism Epicurus, bronze bust from a Greek original, c. 280–270 bce; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

The Charvaka (or Lokayata) school represented a radical form of materialism in Indian philosophy by grounding its worldview strictly in empirical experience and rejecting all forms of supernaturalism.12

Epistemological Foundation

The school’s materialism was built on a strict epistemology that accepted only direct sensory perception (pratyaksha) as a valid source of knowledge. They rejected inference (anumana) and verbal testimony (including the authority of the Vedas), arguing that universal premises could not be established with certainty because hidden conditions could always invalidate them. Consequently, they dismissed any entity that could not be verified by the senses, such as God, the soul, karma, or an afterlife.12

Metaphysics and Ethics

Metaphysically, the Charvakas proposed a reductive materialism, asserting that the world is composed of only four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. They viewed consciousness not as an immaterial soul, but as a byproduct of the body's material structure that perishes upon death. Ethically, they rejected traditional religious aims like liberation (moksha) and righteousness (dharma), advocating instead for a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain during one's lifetime.12