Dakshinaranjan Shastri (1894-1961) was born at Amtoli village in the Faridpur district (now a province) of Bangladesh. His schooling through Sanskrit Collegiate School and College and finally at the University of Calcutta led him to the 1st in 1st class position in M.A. in Sanskrit. He also did an M.A. in Bengali, and received the title ‘Shastri’ from the D.P.I., Bengal. His Ph.D thesis was on ‘The Origin and Development of the Rituals of Ancestor Worship in India’. He had taught briefly at Sanskrit Collegiate School before becoming a teacher at Sanskrit College. His last job was that of the Head of the Department of Sanskrit at Krishnagar Government College.
Shastri could write English, Bengali and Sanskrit with equal facility. His publications are Charvaka Shasthi (1928, Sanskrit and English), Bhasa Samasya O Mimamsa (1929, Bengali), A Short History of Indian Materialism and Hedonism (1930), Charvaka Darshana (1959, Bengali). Strangely, his thesis for Ph.D. was rather late to be published (1962). Two other posthumous publications are Charvaka Philosophy (1967) and Smriti: Achar O Dharma (1974, Bengali).
He wrote extensively in various scholarly journals which include Historical Quarterly, The Cultural Heritage of India, The Religions of the World, Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, The Humanist Way, Philosophy of East and West etc., as he wrote in numerous Bengali periodicals. In 1960, he was invited to attend the International Congress of Orienta-lists which was held in Moscow, which, however, he could not attend for failing health.
If we can really claim that we live in an age of reason, we must also acknowledge that such an age should admit only one philosophy which assigns a priority of matter over mind. To do this is not to become materialistic in the pejorative sense of the term, but to hold a worldview that reason and ground realities of this planet allow us to hold. That the world has still witnessed the growth of host of philosophies which I regard as fascinating fictions and that these philosophies have held sway in most countries most of the time, cannot be anything but in instance of truth being submerged by a deluge of falsehood. The factors behind this topsy-turvy progress of ideas are too complex and wide-ranging to be worth our while to go into now. What, however, is encouraging is the fact that the ancient world, including India, did not let this happen without a fight and the Charavaka or Barhaspatya philosophy, now accepted as a valid, although much maligned, member of the set of six systems of Indian philosophy, presents a dialectics of ideational struggle, in an otherwise insipid chronicle of the overwhelming preponderance of the so-called ‘spiritualism’.
This spiritualistic philosophies, to my mind, did precious little to explain the world and our life in it: the whence, when, how, and why of them. They are, in fact, no better than the fibbing of the kid charged for not doing his homework. Charvaka, on the other hand, keeps his nose close to the ground, and calling a spade a spade, tells us in a bland manner that the king wore no cloth. He puts too many questions to the thesis for them to-feel comfortable, and generations to the latter did their utmost to destroy the traces of his philosophy. They even gobbled up atheistic Buddhism, having mystified it out of recognition. But the dogged persistence of materialism, and its refusal to die, show that at no point of time was their victory complete.
Charvaka, or his tradition, represents a heroic resistance to spiritualism and everything that goes with it and creates a human face of ancient India, otherwise overlooked by us. He therefore is more relevant now than he has ever been. A no-nonsense and businesslike philosophy like his, minus its hedonistic excesses (which may well be interpolations by its antagonists), is a near thing to the philosophy that works, the philosophy that explains things as it attempts as changing them.
Late Dakshinaranjan Shastri was one of the best exponents of Indian materialism, and we are glad that we are able to offer this small volume on the Charvaka system, an excellent introduction to it, to mark the author’s centenary of birth, which fell in 1994. I hope that the readers of the present generation, who have not forsaken the dream of changing the world, will and find the book stimulating and inspiring.
It is well known to the students of Indian Philosophy that the original Sutra works of Charvaka Philosophy are now lost to us. It is also known that it is not always safe to rely exclusively for a certain doctrine or way of thought on its presentation by its avowed opponents. Opponents are seldom found to be free from prejudices and personal predilections, the absence of which is necessary for studying a problem dispassionately and for examining it on its own merits. Purvapaksas or the opponent views are almost invariably presented in an inadequate and unsympathetic manner so that no sound judgment as to their proper philosophical worth can be easily formed. For this obvious reason the study of a system from its perverted presentation by its opponents has to be supplemented by method of sympathetic introspection.
The study of the Charvaka philosophy should, therefore, be attempted on the broad basis of sympathetic appreciation. We must always be prepared to distinguish between what a certain thinker says of himself and what others unfavourably disposed towards him attribute to him. For this obvious reason, utmost attempt is to be made to collect fragments of actual statements of the founders and propounders of Charvaka view. We have a vast and curious medley of utterances in the subsequent literature which were inspired by a spirit of positive hatred and deprecation. The views of the opponents are, therefore, to be studied in the light of consistency with the spirit of the fragments yet preserved, of the actual words used by the earliest champions of the system.
It is not enough to know what views a particular thinker holds. We should try, if we have to build up a system of thought, to trace these views to a rational basis amenable to the understanding of man.
The materialist school of India is known by different names. Some call it Lokayata or Charvaka, whereas others call it Nastika or Barhaspatya.
Lokayata
Kumarila Bhatta uses the word Lokayata in the sense of an atheistic system in general. He says in his Sloka Vartika that Mimamsa has been treated in the world as Lokayata on account of its supposed atheism. But a system should not be considered as Lokayata on account of its mere atheistic character. The Buddhists, excluding those of the later Mahayana school, the Jainas, Sankhya, at least in its ancient form and Vaisesika did not believe in a personal God. Yet we know Lokayata to be quite distinct from all these schools. So atheism cannot be the peculiar characteristic of the Lokayata school. Mimamsa does not believe in a personal God, but believes in karmaphala i.e. fruits of good and evil actions. Lokayata denies karmaphala, a sentiment never doubted by any Hindu. It is this denial of karmaphala which opens a /??chasm between it and the other schools. Hence, although Lokayata is an atheistic system, all atheistic systems are not Lokayata. So we cannot accept the view of Kumarila in this matter. Childers explains the word Lokayata as controversy on fabulous or absurd points. This view is criticized by Max Muller who refers to the Ambattha-Sutta where Lokayata is mentioned as forming part of the studies proper for a Brahmana. Kautilya, in his Arthashastra mentions Lokayata along with Sankhya and Yoga systems. So we cannot admit Childer’s view. Davids and Franke explain it as a doctrine specially aiming at studying nature and the laws of nature. Tucci contradicts this view. He says that Loka never had in Sanskrit the meaning of nature. Lokayata is but a science which has for its only object the Loka i.e. this world. Rajkrishna Mukhopadhyay gives the following explanation of the word Lokayata: “The other name of the Charvaka system is Lokayata, because it holds that only this world or Loka exists.”
Dr. Dasgupta explains it in the following manner: “Lokayata (literally that which is found among people in general) seems to have been the name by which all Charvaka doctrines were generally known. According to Radhakrishnan, Lokayata is the Sanskrit word for Materialism. The Materialists are called Lokayatas. This interpretation receives a strong support, for Lokayata may be etymologically analysed as ‘Loka’ and ‘Ayata’—‘prevalent in the world’. Brihaspati in Arthashastra, Kautilya, Vatsyayana, Haribhadra Suri, Abhidhakarna, Shanta Raksita, Sankaracharya, Vachaspati Mishra, Bhaskaracharya, Krishna Mishra, Gunaratna, Nilakantha, Madhusudana, Madhavacharya and Jayarashi use the word Lokayata in the sense of a Materialistic school of philosophy.
The word Lokayata is as old as the Ramayana. In the Ramayana the word Lokayata means Vitanda (dry arguments or casuistry). It is often used in old Pali text in the same sense. The word is also available in Patanjali’s Mahabhashya. The name Lokayata also occurs in Panini’s Ukthadigana. Lokayata has been recognised by Kautilya as a Darshana.
Charvaka
The other name of the materialistic school is Charvaka. According to Max Muller, Charvaka is represented as a teacher of Lokayata. He is treated as a historical individual to whom Brihaspati or Vachaspati delivered his doctrine. The doctrines of Buddha would be called sceptical and atheistical by the Brahmanas, and Charvaka as well as Nastika is the name freely applied to the Buddhists. But the doctrines of Charvaka as far as we know them, go far beyond Buddhism and may be said to be hostile to all religious feelings, while Buddha’s teaching was both religious and philosophical. Radhakrishnan, along with Macdonell, holds that Charvaka is the name of the founder of the Lokayata system. Dr. Dasgupta explains the word Charvaka in a different way. He says that Charvaka is not any historical individual. The Lokayatas were called Charvakas, because they would only eat (‘oharv’ to eat) but would not accept any religious or moral responsibility. L. de La Valle Poussin mentions Charvaka as the reputed founder of the sect. Dr. B. Barua holds the view that the later Sanskrit works ascribe materialistic utterances to a mythical figure to whom they give the name of Charvaka.
Let us assume, along with Krishna Mishra and MM. Vasudeva Sastri that Charvaka was one of the followers of Brihaspati of the Lokayata school like Bhaguri, mentioned in Patanjali’s Mahabhasya and like Kambala-shwatara as well as Purandara mentioned in the Tattva Samgraha of Shanta Rakshita.
Charvaka is met with in the Mahabharata. Later on this is the only term by which Indian materialism is designated.
The word Charvaka is often taken as Charu (beautiful) and Vak (speech). And it is interesting to find that Charu is also a synonym for Brihaspati. Thus it may be suggested that Charvaka stands for ‘the words of Brihaspati’.
The title of the book itself discloses its importance. Truly speaking without materialism cultivation of Indian Philosophical schools is absurd. Almost all of the Indian schools either oppose or refute this system. The author deals with the Indian Materialism in all its a aspects historically, analytically and comparatively. An attempt is here made to expound the Carvaka School and to analysis its logical implications. From the academic point of view this book is remarkable as there is hardly any work which treats original source materials.
A Scholar extraordinary, Prof. Amit Bhattacharjee was born at the Midnapore town of West Bengal in 1956. He studied in the special discipline of Nyaya-Vaisheshika in the department of Sanskrit of the University of Calcutta and stood first class first in the M.A. Examination.
He was honoured with a number of awards and scholarships including a gold medal from the University of Calcutta.
His primary interest, however, rotates round the Katha discipline of India philosophy and Lokovyabahar. Many of his research papers on diverse subject have been published in national and international journals. He has taught at a number premier institutions, of Bengal including Narasinha Dutt college, Ramkrisna Mission Vidya Mandir (Belur), Rabindra Bharati University and, Burdwan University.
A Lifetime member of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata and Sanskrita Sahitya Parishad, he is currently attached to the University of calcutaa as a distinguished Professor of comparative Indian Language & Literature.
This book is an outcome of a workshop organized by ICPR Lucknow held on 29th to 9 May, 2013. We (Professor V N Jha, Professor Pradeep Gokhale and I myself) were invited as resource persons to conduct the said workshop. But Professor Gokhale had to leave the workshop due to his urgent piece of business. He had presented the general outlook of materialism through his lectures.
Professor V N Jha believed that to acquire better knowledge in any system of Indian Philosophical School one must read original source materials. Therefore, according to his planning, we decided to teach various philosophical texts where materialistic though or Lokayatika Bhavanas are described vividly.
Since most of the participants did not have prior knowledge of Lokayata system and they came from a variety of disciplines and academic levels, the emphasis was given on the essential concepts and lucid presentation of the subjects matter, so that participants might draw maximum advantage to understand the concepts.
Being requested by the participants and having seen their response professor V N jha advised me to write a book on this topic and I have carried out his advice with considerable effort. As result of this ‘A source book of Indian materialism has been prepared.
Although there is no dearth of book on this subject and most of which are quite good but still the addition of another is justified as in this edition source materials are added in original form. So this book shall meet the needs of students and scholars alike.
The users of the garlands are seen to take interest in preparing garlands with new arrangements with the same flowers with which they had decorated their hair before several times.
This book is divided into two parts. The topics of both parts are organized to meet the requirements. The first half comprises of the topics like contextual history of carvaka, classification of carvakas, brief analysis of matter and form, dialectical materialism, idea of materialism in Greek philosophy, view of the opponents, denunciation of the Vedas above all contribution of Bengal in elaborating materialism etc.
Carvaka is the materialistic system of thought propounded by the ancient philosophers of India. The Carvaka system of philosophy has been much criticized and even ridiculed since the ancient times as the Carvakas have been dubbed as atheists and hedonists. This work is an attempt to reveal the fundamentals of Carvaka philosophy, and its epistemological, metaphysical and ethical concerns. Beginning with the origin and development of Indian materialism, it addresses the controversial and disputed issues regarding Carvaka philosophy on the basis of a profound study of the original sources on the subject and by referring to modern researches on it. It highlights the contributions of the Carvakas in the furtherance of moral and philosophical thoughts and their uniqueness in many respects, such as the Carvaka School being the only one among ancient Indian philosophical schools to accept only one pramana — perception. The Carvaka system is compared and contrasted with other systems of ancient Indian philosophy for the purpose. The book is praiseworthy in its attempt to present its findings in a logical manner.
The book will interest scholars and students of ancient Indian philosophy as well as general readers who are keen to understand ancient Indian philosophy.
After obtaining a brilliant first class in M.A. (Buddhist Studies) in 2001 from the University of Jammu, Dr Bhupender Heera (b. 1976) earned his PhD degree from the same University in 2005 on the topic “The Impact of Buddhist Thought and Culture on Socio-Religious Life of the Asian People with Special Reference to Sri Lanka, China and Tibet”. In the following years he obtained his M.A. in Philosophy from Gurukula Kangri Viswavidyalaya, Haridwar, and later earned his second PhD in philosophy in 2010 from the same university. Dr Heera has, thus, the unique distinction of having double M.A. with brilliant first class both in Buddhist Studies and Philosophy and double PhD in the same subjects. He has also to his credit Three-years Diploma in Architectur Engineering. Presently Dr Heera is teaching philosophy in Education Department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
CARVAJCA is the materialistic system of Indian philosophy. This school appears as a note of discord in the symphony of Indian philosophy. On account of the tendency of this school towards gross materialism, atheism, individualistic hedonism, and radical selfishness, it has become an object of ridicule. It is a great irony that there are many misgivings about this school and there are many sweeping remarks condemning this system as crude hedonism. Even the meaning of “Carvaka” and “Lokayata” has been explained by different scholars in different ways. There is also a diversion of the meaning regarding their origin. Quite often the Carvakas are dubbed as nastikas. This system is classed as heterodox not because of its gross materialism and atheism, but because of its outright rejection of the authority of the Vedas. The Samkhya system is naturalistic and atheistic and the Purva-Mimamsa system of Jaimini is supposed to be atheistic and yet those systems are classed as orthodox because they accept the authority of the Srutis.
Carvaka, after whose name this school is so called, is said to be the chief disciple of Brhaspati. According to another view, Carvaka is the name of the founder of this school. According to still another view, the word “Carvaka” is not a proper name, but a common name given to a materialist, and it signifies a person who believes in” eat, drink and be merry” (the root carv means to eat), or a person who eats up his own words, or who eats up all moral and ethical considerations, or a person who is “sweet-tongued” (caruvak) and therefore whose doctrine is superficially attractive. Another synonym of Carvaka is Lokayata which means a commoner and therefore, by implication, man of low and unrefined taste. Nastika-Siromani or an “arch heretic” is another name of materialist. In Ramayana, they are called “fools” who think themselves to be wise and who are experts in leading people to doom and ruin. Reference to them is also found in Mahabharata and Manu-Sathhiti7. Regarding the relations of Carvaka to Lokayata, scholars have different opinions. According to Max Muller, Carvaka is represented as teacher of Lokayata. He is treated as a historical individual to whom Brhaspati or Vacaspati delivered his doctrine. S. Radha-krishanan, along with Macdonell, holds that Carvaka is the name of the founder of Lokayata system. S.N. Das Gupta explains the word Carvaka in a different way. He says Carvaka is not a historical individual, Le Vallee Poussin mentions Carvaka as the reputed founder of the sect. N.M. Barua holds the view that the later Sanskrit works ascribe materialistic utterances to a mythical figure to whom they give the name of Carvaka. All this appears to be conjectural. To settle this dispute and uncertainty a fresh research may be of great value to dispel all the misgivings about Carvaka.
No original work of this school is extant with the single exception of a much later work, Tattvopaplavasimha of Jayarasi Bhatta published by the Oriental Institute of Baroda in 1940. It is therefore very difficult to have a correct idea of it. The Barhaspatya Sutra which is said to have contained the original tenets of Carvaka school has unfortunately perished. Our chief sources of information about Carvaka are given in the works of other schools. But this is done only to refute materialism. So we don’t get a true picture of this school. In the second Act of Prabodhacandrodaya, Krishna Mishra sums up the teachings of materialism thus: “Lokayata is the only Sastra; perception is the only authority earth, water, fire and air are the only elements; enjoyment is the only end of human existence; mind is only product of matter.” There is no other source of our information about Carvaka other than Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha which gives the following summary of Carvaka Position.
There is no heaven, no final liberation nor any soul in another world; nor do the actions of the four castes, orders, etc. produce any real effect. The Agnihotra the three Vedas, the ascetic’s three staves and smearing oneself with ashes were made by Nature as the livelihood of those destitute of knowledge and manliness. If a beast slain in the Jyotistoma rite will itself go to heaven, why then does not the sacrificer forthwith offer his own father? If beings in heaven are gratified by our offering the 4mcLjha here, then why not give the food down below to those who are standing on the house top? While life remains let a man live happily let him feed on ghee even though he runs in debt; when once the body becomes ashes, how can it ever return here? All the ceremonies are a means of livelihood for brahmanas. The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves and demons.
Now it is clear that the Carvakas are unique in many respects. They are not the only ones who reject soul, God and the supremacy of the Vedas. Even the Orthodox system like Samkhya and Mimamsa do not believe in God. But they cannot be equated with Carvaka because Vedas are an anathema to them. The Jainas do not believe in God and have no faith in the Vedas yet they have a theory of soul. Thus Carvaka needs to be studied under comparative light on the wide spectrum of classical Indian Philosophy because they are downright atheists and materialist5 They also stand out as the single school of thought who accepts only one pramana, i.e. perception The most salient point of our research is to trace back the origins and course of this system of thought which was conspicuously opposed to the dominant spiritualistic tradition of ancient India.
The objective behind this research is to try to settle the controversial and disputed issues regarding Carvaka’s “metaphysics, epistemology and ethics and to obviate the rampant misgivings on the basis of a profound study of the relevant original sources together with the ancillary books and modern researches hitherto made on the subject. The Carvakas have suffered the ignominy of being a non-serious and vulgar system of thought which teaches sensuality and promiscuity. In the present research work a very sincere attempt has been made to disprove such baseless accusations and to highlight the positive contributions of the Carvakas in the furtherance of moral and philosophical thoughts.
There are good number of researches on Carvakas and their thought. But misgivings and confusions about their doctrines and teachings are umpteen. In most of the books, both of the classical and modern writers, Carvakas are misinterpreted and their teachings are distorted. To make them a subject of ridicule their constructive contributions and role in the development of Indian thought have either been ignored or daubed or contemptuously overlooked. The attitude of the critics has been mostly derogatory. Only a dispassionate study of the Carvakas without any pride or prejudice will set the things right. In this research work we have tried to do full justice to the Carvakas by way of comparison and contrasts with other systems of classical Indian philosophies. Dust has not yet settled, so a fresh research work like this on Carvaka is very much justified.
The bibliography will reflect the range of our study but to start with the following books have been consulted just with a view to having a road map towards the preparation of our present research work.
Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha of Madhvacarya, Tattvopaplavasimha by Jayarasi Bhatta, Prabodhacandrodaya of Krishna Mishra, Lokayata by OP. Chattopadhyaya, Structural Depth of Indian Thought by P.T. Raju, Carvaka’s Darsana by Acharya Anand Jha, Ethical Philosophies of India by I.C. Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy by C.D. Sharma, Carvaka’s Sasti by Gagan Dev Giri, Indian Philosophy (2 volumes) by S. Radhakrishnan, A History of Indian Philosophy (2 volumes) by S.N. Das Gupta, Outlines of Indian Philosophy by M. Hiriyanna, and Indian Atheism: A Marxist Analysis by D.P. Chattopadhyaya.
Sincere our study is mostly textual we shall rely upon the original sources and the commentaries of classical philosophy of both Vedic and non-Vedic schools because the only original work on Carvakas, i.e. Barhaspatya Sutra is lost. We shall focus our attention on the scant material that is dispersed in the pages of Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha and Tattvopaplavsimha. Instead of being narrative we shall present our findings in a logical way under the umbrella of reason and common sense. Myth and legends have no room in philosophy and therefore they will be avoided.
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