SĀṂKHYA, a Sanskrit word meaning "enumeration," "categorization" is derived from the substantive saṃkhyā ("number") and is the name of one of the earliest Hindu philosophical schools.

The Teachings of the School

As the name implies, the Sāṃkhya school relies on distinct and recognizable patterns of enumeration as methods of inquiry. The different patterns of enumeration can be grouped into three main separate divisions according to their overall function in the system: the principles of twenty-five (constitutive), the dispositions of eight (projective), and the categories of fifty (effective).

Basic to an understanding of the Sāṃkhya school is the importance it places on the distinction between contentless consciousness (puruṣa) and materiality (prakṛti), two completely different principles. Nothing exists apart from these two principles. This distinction caused the Sāṃkhya school to be labeled "dualistic." Contentless consciousness...