Kapila () was a
Vedic sage credited as one of the founders of the
Samkhya school of philosophy. He is prominent in the
Bhagavata Purana, which features a
theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy. Traditional
Hindu sources describe him as a descendant of
Manu, a grandson of
Brahma. The
Bhagavad Gita depicts Kapila as a
yogi hermit with highly developed
siddhis, or spiritual powers. Kapila's descendants can still be found in
Punjab in
North India. They have their surnames as Kapil/Kapila.
Many of the details about sage Kapila's life are described in Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, where it is mentioned that his parents were Kardama Muni and Devahuti. After his father left home, Kapila instructed his mother, Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and devotional worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve liberation (moksha). Kapila's Sankhya is also given by Krishna to Uddhava in Book 11 of the Bhagavata Purana, a passage also known as the "Uddhava Gita".
Kapila is also mentioned by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita:
Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.(10.26)
Birth of the Ganges
Kapila is a major figure in the story associated with the descent of the
Ganga (Ganges) river from heaven.
King Sagar, an ancestor of
Rama, had performed the
Aswamedha yagna ninety-nine times. On the hundredth time the horse was sent around the earth
Indra, the King of
Heaven, grew jealous and kidnapped the horse, hiding it in the hermitage of Kapila.
The 60,000 sons of Sagara found the horse, and believing Kapila to be the abductor assaulted him. Kapila turned his assailants to ashes. Anshuman, a grandson of King Sagara, came to Kapila begging him to redeem the souls of Sagara's 60,000 sons. Kapila replied that only if the Ganges descended from heaven and touched the ashes of the 60,000 would they be redeemed. The Ganges was eventually brought to earth, redeeming the sons of Sagara, through the tapasya of King Bhagiratha.
Teachings
Kapila's Samkhya is taught in various
Hindu texts:
Mahabharata
"Kapila said, "Acts only cleanse the body. Knowledge, however, is the highest end (for which one strives). 5 When all faults of the heart are cured (by acts), and when the felicity of Brahma becomes established in knowledge, benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, compassion, truthfulness, and candour, abstention from injury, absence of pride, modesty, renunciation, and abstention from work are attained. These constitute the path that lead to Brahma. By those one attains to what is the Highest." (Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCLXX, p. 270-271).
"Bhishma said (to Yudhisthira), 'Listen, O slayer of foes! The Sankhyas or followers of Kapila, who are conversant with all paths and endued with wisdom, say that there are five faults, O puissant one, in the human body. They are Desire and Wrath and Fear and Sleep and Breath. These faults are seen in the bodies of all embodied creatures. Those that are endued with wisdom cut the root of wrath with the aid of Forgiveness. Desire is cut off by casting off all purposes. By cultivation of the quality of Goodness (Sattwa) sleep is conquered, and Fear is conquered by cultivating Heedfulness. Breath is conquered by abstemiousness of diet. (Book 12: Santi Parva: Part III, Section CCCII.)
Bhagavata Purana
"My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sankhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires. This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again." (3.24.36-37)
"When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as "I" and bodily possessions as "mine," one's mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress."(3.25.16)
See also
Narada
Vyasa
Bhakti Yoga
Samkhya
Kapila Theertham
Kaul Village
kolayat
References
External links
The Sánkhya Aphorisms of Kapila, 1885 translation by James R. Ballantyne, edited by Fitzedward Hall.
Category:Indian philosophers
Category:Hindu philosophers
Category:Hindu sages
Category:Ancient Indian philosophers
