Carvaka/Lokayata: An Anthology of Source Materials and some Recent Studies

The ancient Indian materialistic thought system known as Carvaka or Lokayata formed the most redoubtable intellectual and doctrinal sect outside the Vedic fold. Despite intense persecution from orthodoxy, it stood its ground unfailingly and left a powerful impress on the corpus of Indian literature from the Vedas to the Upanisads and later. The irreproachable logic of its basic stance still appeals to perceptive minds. In this anthology almost all the available materials on Carvaka and Lokayata have been methodically arranged. They are divided into three sections, the first providing the text from traditional sources, the second being devoted to modern studies on the system, and the third offering a critical survey of Jayarasi’s Tattvopaplavasimha. The English rendering closely follows the original text. The present compilation furnishes a full profile of one of the most controversial thought systems in India. The volume can be counted as a major contribution to the field of Indian philosophical studies. Teaches and researchers as well as students of Indian materialism and Indology should find it indispensable.