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How did the Mahabharata preserve early Samkhya ideas?

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Indian philosophy In the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna and the Hindu deity Krishna, who also serves as Arjuna's charioteer (as depicted in this 17th-century illustration), engaging in a philosophical dialogue.

The Mahabharata preserves early, or proto-Samkhya, ideas primarily within the "Mokshadharma" chapter of Book 12. This version of the philosophy predates the classical system established by the 3rd-century philosopher Ishvarakrishna.1

The epic serves as a repository for these ideas by recording several different schemata of the 25 tattvas (principles) of Samkhya, which typically include eight productive forms of prakriti, 16 modifications, and the purusha. Notably, the text often integrates an un-Samkhyan 26th principle: Ishvara, or the supreme lord.1

Furthermore, the Mahabharata attempts to accommodate these presystematic ideas into the Bhagavata faith by identifying the four vyuhas (living forms) of the Pancharatra school with specific Samkhya principles. For instance, Vasudeva is identified with spirit, while other forms are linked to the individual soul, mind, and ego-sense. Through this synthesis, the epic preserves a fluid, evolving stage of Samkhya and Yoga thought before they became strictly codified.1