Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of Indian philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the religion of Hinduism during the iron and classical ages of India. In Indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is Darshana (viewpoint or perspective), from the Sanskrit root drish ('to see, to experience').

Hindu philosophy consists of six orthodox schools of thought (shad-darśana): Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. These are called the āstika philosophical traditions (i.e. those that accept the Vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge). Indian philosophy during the ancient and medieval periods also yielded philosophical systems that share concepts with āstika traditions, but rejected the Vedas; these have been called nāstika (heterodox or non-orthodox) philosophies, they include: Buddhism, Jainism, Chārvāka, Ājīvika, and others, which are thus classified under Indian but not Hindu philosophy.

Western scholars have debated the relationship and differences within āstika philosophies, and theirs with the nāstika philosophies, starting with the writings of Indologists and Orientalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, which were themselves derived from limited availability of Indian literature and medieval doxographies. The various sibling traditions included in Hindu philosophies are diverse and are united by shared history and concepts, same textual resources, similar ontological and soteriological focus, and cosmology. While Buddhism and Jainism are considered distinct philosophies and religions, some heterodox (nāstika) traditions such as Chārvāka are often considered as distinct schools within Hindu philosophy because the word Hindu is also an exonym and historically the term has been used as a geographical and cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent.

Hindu philosophy also includes several sub-schools of theistic philosophies that integrate ideas from two or more of the six orthodox philosophies, such as realism of Nyāya, naturalism of Vaiśeṣika, dualism of Sāṅkhya, non-dualism of Advaita, and self-discipline of Yoga. Examples of such schools include: Pāśupata Śaiva, Śaiva siddhānta, Pratyabhijña, Raseśvara and Vaiṣṇava. Some sub-schools share Tantric ideas, with those found in some Buddhist traditions, which are nevertheless found in the Puranas and the Āgamas. Each school of Hindu philosophy has extensive epistemological literature called Pramana, as well as theories on metaphysics, axiology, and other topics.