UPSC CSE Prelims 2013
The Sankhya school of philosophy is a dualistic system that distinguishes between Purusha (consciousness or self) and Prakriti (matter or nature). According to Sankhya, liberation (moksha) is attained through discriminative knowledge (viveka-jnana), which involves realizing the absolute distinction between Purusha and Prakriti. This self-knowledge, or the understanding of the true nature of the self as distinct from the material world, is considered the sole path to liberation. It asserts that no external influence or agent can lead to this ultimate freedom; it must arise from within through intellectual discernment. Therefore, statement 2 is correct.
The Sankhya school, like most other orthodox schools of Indian philosophy, accepts the theory of rebirth or transmigration of the soul (Purusha). It posits that the Purusha, though inherently free, becomes entangled with Prakriti and experiences the consequences of actions (karma) through successive births until true discriminative knowledge is achieved. The cycle of rebirth continues as long as the Purusha identifies itself with the products of Prakriti. Therefore, statement 1, which claims Sankhya does not accept rebirth, is incorrect.