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Which traditions are considered unorthodox systems of Indian philosophy?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Seventeenth-century illustration from the Mahabharata showing Krishna, with blue skin, driving a white horse-drawn chariot as Arjuna sits behind him holding a bow.
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.

In Indian philosophy, traditions are classified as either orthodox (āstika) or unorthodox (nāstika). The term nāstika (from the Sanskrit na asti, meaning "there is not") refers to schools that do not accept the authority of the Vedas, the traditional system of the four social classes (varna), or the superiority of the Brahmins.12

The primary unorthodox systems include:

  • Buddhism: A major tradition founded by the historical Buddha, which focuses on the nature of suffering (dukkha) and the path to its cessation.34
  • Jainism: A tradition that emphasizes nonviolence (ahimsa) and a strict code of moral conduct as central to its ethical and religious practice.53
  • Cārvāka: An unorthodox school defined by its materialism and atheism. Cārvākas rejected the existence of a soul, an afterlife, and the validity of inference, asserting that direct sensory perception is the only reliable source of knowledge.16
  • ĀjÄ«vikas: An ascetic tradition that is also categorized among the nāstika schools.1