# सांख्य (sāṃkhya)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sankhya

सांख्य (sāṃkhya) is a Sanskrit word meaning numeral, relating to number, rational or discriminative, one who calculates or discriminates well, an adherent of the Samkhya philosophy, the name of a man, descendant of the Vedic Rishi Atri. Its 22 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them The Sāṃkhya Philosophical System, Rational, Discriminative, or Calculating Attribute, Relating to Number or Numerals.

- **SLP1:** `sAMKya`  **IAST:** sāṃkhya  **Devanagari:** सांख्य
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sankhya/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** सांख्या (sāṃkhyā), संख्या (saṃkhyā), संख्य (saṃkhya)

## Meanings by context

### The Sāṃkhya Philosophical System (6 definitions)
- 1. One of the three great divisions of Hindu philosophy, ascribed to the sage Kapila. 2. A follower of the Samkhya philosophy.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) n. ( accord. to some also m. ) N. of one of the three great divisions of Hindū philosophy (ascribed to the sage Kapila [ q.v. ], and so called either from ‘discriminating’, in general, or, more probably, from ‘reckoning up’ or ‘enumerating’ twenty-five Tattvas [see तत्त्व (tattva) ] or true entities [twenty-three of which are evolved out of Prakṛti ‘the primordial Essence’ or ‘first-Producer’], viz. Buddhi, Ahaṃkāra, the five Tan-mātras, the five Mahā-bhūtas and Manas; the twenty-fifth being Puruṣa or Spirit [sometimes called Soul] which is neither a Producer nor Production [see विकार (vikāra) ], but wholly distinct from the twenty-four other Tattvas, and is multitudinous, each separate Puruṣa by its union with Prakṛti causing a separate creation out of Prakṛti, the object of the philosophy being to effect the final liberation of the Puruṣa or Spirit from the fetters caused by that creation; the Yoga [ q.v. ] branch of the Sāṃkhya recognizes a Supreme Spirit dominating each separate Puruṣa; the Tantras identify Prakṛti with the wives of the gods, esp. with the wife of Śiva; the oldest systematic exposition of the S° seems to have been by an author called Pañca-śikha [the germ, however, being found in the Ṣaṣṭi-tantra, of which only scanty fragments are extant]; the original Sūtras were superseded by the S° of Īśvara-kṛṣṇa, the oldest manual on the S° system that has come down to us and probably written in the 5th century A.D., while the S° -sūtras or Ś° and Tattva-samāsa, ascribed to the sage Kapila, are now thought to belong to as late a date as the 14th or 15th century or perhaps a little later), ŚvetUp.; MBh. &c., Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams (Title) 73 &c. RTL. [ ID=241225 ]
- one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy attributed to the sage Kapila  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — ख्यः, - ख्यं (khyaḥ, -khyaṃ) N. of one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy, attributed to the sage Kapila; (this philosophy is so called because it ‘enumerates’ twentyfive Tattvas or true principles; and its chief object is to effect the final emancipation of the twenty-fifth Tattva, i. e. the Puruṣa or soul, from the bonds of this worldly existence-the fetters of phenomenal creation-by conveying a correct knowledge of the twenty-four other Tattvas and by properly discriminating the Soul from them. It regards the whole universe as a development of an inanimate principle called Prakṛti q. v., while the Puruṣa is altogether passive and simply a looker-on. It agrees with the Vedānta in being synthetical and so differs from the analytical Nyāya or Vaiśeṣika; but its great point of divergence from the Vedānta is that it maintains two principles which the Vedānta denies, and that it does not admit God as the creator and controller of the universe, which the Vedānta affirms); सांख्यमिव (sāṃkhyamiva) कपिलाधिष्ठितं (kapilādhiṣṭhitaṃ) K
- 1. Relating to grammatical number. 2. A calculator, deliberator, or follower of the Samkhya philosophy. 3. The Samkhya philosophical system attributed to Kapila, which enumerates twenty-five principles.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 345-3 ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) sāṃkhya, a. [saṃkhyā] relating to grammatical number; m. calculator, deliberator; adherent of the Sāṃkhya doctrine; n. the philosophical system, attributed to Kapila, which enumerates the twenty-five Tattvas or principles ( an evolutionaist doctrine ): -puruṣa, m. the universal soul in the Sāṃkhya system; -yoga, n. the Sāṃkhya and the Yoga systems; m. the theistical Sāṃkhya-Yoga; -vādin, m. adherent of the theistical Sāṃkhya-Yoga. [ ID=19143 ]
- 1. One of the six systems of Hindu philosophy ascribed to the sage Kapila. 2. A follower of this philosophical system.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) (II) m. 1. Name of one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy, ascribed to the sage Kapila and so called as enumerating twenty-five Tatvas or true principles; its object is to effect the final Liberation of the twenty-fifth Tatva, viz., purusha (the soul) from the fetters of the phenomenal creation by conveying a correct knowledge of the twenty-four other Tatvas; the Sānkhya system agrees with Vedāntism in being synthetical, so differing from the analytical Nyāya; its great point of divergence from the Vedānta is its maintaining two principles, which the Vedānta denies; 2. a follower of the Sānkhya system of philosophy. [ ID=40349 ]
- 1. Relating to numbers. 2. A follower or the system of the Sankhya philosophy.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 611 ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) a. relating to the number ( g. ); n. N. of a philosophical system, m. an adherent of it. [ ID=36470 ]
- 1. A philosophical system revealed by Vishnu and taught by Kapila to Asuri. 2. A system teaching first principles where the eternal Purusha acts as an agent directing the qualities of Prakriti.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sāṃkhya (Yoga) — Revealed by Viṣṇu: taught by Kapila to Āsuri. 1 Here tattvas or first principles are taught. Puruṣa the eternal, acts as agent to get things done by the guṇas of Prakṛti. Its relation to Bhaktiyoga. 2 Its principles are differently enumerated as eleven, five, three and so on; ac- cording to one's yuktī or reason. Creation of universe ac- cording to Sānkhya, and the place of Prakṛti and Puruṣa therein. 3 Followed by Kṛṣṇa while ruling from Dvārakā and by Nārada in his worship of Naranārāyaṇa. 4 Practised by Vairājasas; 5 is itself a kind of yoga; 6 born out of the creator. 7 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. I. 3. 10; II. 1. 6; V. 18. 33; M. 3. 29; Vā. 30. 293.] [ Footnote: 2) Bhā. III. 24. 17; 25. 31; ch. 26 (whole); 29 2; Vā. 61. 111.] [ Footnote: 3) Bhā. XI. 22. 1-25; Bhā 24 (whole).] [ Footnote: 4) ch. III. 3. 19; V. 19. 10; IX. 8. 14; X. 8. 45; XI. 14. 20.] [ Footnote: 5) M. 13. 5.] [ Footnote: 6) Ib. 52. 3; 110; 19; 182. 18; 183. 44; Vā. 66. 110.] [ Footnote: 7) M. 183. 50; 184. 24; 245. 87; 247. 9; 248. 17; 291. 2.] [ ID=15739 ]

### Rational, Discriminative, or Calculating Attribute (4 definitions)
- rational or discriminative  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > rational, or discriminative, W. [ ID=241220 ]
- Calculating, enumerating  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 1113-c ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) a. [ संख्यया निर्वृत्तं अण् (saṃkhyayā nirvṛttaṃ aṇ) ] 2 Calculating, enumerating
- Discriminative  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 1113-c ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) a. [ संख्यया निर्वृत्तं अण् (saṃkhyayā nirvṛttaṃ aṇ) ] 3 Discriminative
- Deliberating, reasoning  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 1113-c ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) a. [ संख्यया निर्वृत्तं अण् (saṃkhyayā nirvṛttaṃ aṇ) ] 4 Deliberating, reasoning, a reasoner; त्वं गतिः सर्वसांख्य (sāṃkhya) ानां (tvaṃ gatiḥ sarvasāṃkhyānāṃ) योगिनां त्वं परायणं (yogināṃ tvaṃ parāyaṇaṃ) Mb

### Relating to Number or Numerals (4 definitions)
- numeral, relating to number  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 1199,1] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) mfn. ( fr. सं - ख्या (saṃ-khyā) ) numeral, relating to number, W. [ ID=241218 ]
- relating to number  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > relating to number (in gram. as expressed by the case-terminations &c.), Pat. [ ID=241219 ]
- Relating to number.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 1113-c ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) a. [ संख्यया निर्वृत्तं अण् (saṃkhyayā nirvṛttaṃ aṇ) ] 1 Relating to number
- 1. Numeral, relating to number. 2. Deliberating, reasoning.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 770-24 ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) (I) a. (f. ख्या (khyā) ) 1. Numeral, relating to number; 2. deliberating, reasoning, ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्य (sāṃkhya) ानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम् (jñānayogena sāṃkhyānāṃ karmayogena yoginām) Bg. iii.3. [ ID=40348 ]

### Epithet of Śiva (3 definitions)
- an epithet of Shiva  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Śiva, MBh. [ ID=241224 ]
- an epithet of Shiva  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — ख्यः (khyaḥ) 2 An epithet of Śiva
- Shiva  
  *The Purana Index*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 3-578 ] Sāṃkhya (Sāṃkhyamukhya) — Śiva. Vā. 30. 220. 97. 175. [ ID=15738 ]

### Follower/Practitioner of Sāṃkhya (2 definitions)
- 1. One who calculates or discriminates well. 2. An adherent of the Samkhya philosophy.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) m. one who calculates or discriminates well, ( esp. ) an adherent of the Sāṃkhya doctrine, CūlUp.; MBh. &c. [ ID=241221 ]
- A follower of the Samkhya philosophy  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — ख्यः (khyaḥ) 1 A follower of the Sāṃkhya philosophy; Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 3. 3, 5. 5

### Proper Name or Patronymic (2 definitions)
- the name of a man  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a man, Car. [ ID=241222 ]
- descendant of the Vedic Rishi Atri  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > patr. of the Vedic Ṛṣi Atri, Anukr. [ ID=241223 ]

### Referential or Alternative Form (1 definition)
- See sangkhya.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सांख्य (sāṃkhya) [Printed book page 778-a ] सांख्य (sāṃkhya) mfn. ( - ख्यः - ख्यी - ख्यं (-khyaḥ-khyī-khyaṃ) ) See साङ्ख्य । (sāṅkhya.) [ ID=43530 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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