nāstika

Indian philosophy

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

In Indian philosophy, āstika refers to orthodox schools of thought that accept the authority of the Vedas, the superiority of Brahmans, and a society of four traditional classes. The term āstika comes from the Sanskrit word for "there is."1

In contrast, nāstika schools, from the Sanskrit for "there is not," do not accept the authority of the Vedas, the four-class system, or the superiority of Brahmans. Prominent nāstika schools include Buddhism, Jainism, the Ājīvikas, and the Cārvākas.1

The concept of karma, meaning "act" in Sanskrit, is a universal causal law in Indian religions and philosophy. It states that good or bad actions determine an individual's future existence, influencing rebirth within the cycle of samsara. The goal is release (moksha) from this cycle.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Indian philosophy
…of philosophy, and unorthodox (nastika) systems, such as Buddhism and Jainism. Indian thought has been concerned with various philosophical problems, significant among which are the nature of the world (cosmology), the nature of reality (metaphysics), logic, the nature of knowledge (epistemology),
Read More
…of philosophy, and unorthodox (nastika) systems, such as Buddhism and Jainism. Indian thought has been concerned with various philosophical problems, significant among which are the nature of the world (cosmology), the nature of reality (metaphysics), logic, the nature of knowledge (epistemology),
Read More

āstika
…the āstika systems are the nāstika (Sanskrit: from na asti, “there is not”), the individuals and schools that do not accept the authority of the Veda, the system of the four classes, and the superiority of the Brahmins. Included among the nāstika schools are the Buddhists, Jainas, the ascetic Ājīvikas,…
Read More
…the āstika systems are the nāstika (Sanskrit: from na asti, “there is not”), the individuals and schools that do not accept the authority of the Veda, the system of the four classes, and the superiority of the Brahmins. Included among the nāstika schools are the Buddhists, Jainas, the ascetic Ājīvikas,…
Read More