Kapila
कपिल
kapila
Kapila was the genius Sage who developed one of the most vibrant philosophy of all times, the great Sankhya Philosophy. Kapila clearly represented the philosophical side of Indian philosophy and is one of the greatest intellectual geniuses Hindu culture has ever produced. Bhagavad Gita partly features a theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy.
Kapila is a revered sage in vedic age, his work Sankya-Sutra is the first exposition of the Sankya Philosophy. The text is not available now but a study of this text by Iswarakrisha as Sankya Karika is available. Kapila is a very rational thinker and he protested against the animal sacrifice in Yajna. He was a great influence on Buddhist philosophy. It says in Purana that Kapila taught his disciple Asuri the philosophy known as Samkhya yoga. Asuri might have been the propagator and famous philosopher of Sankya philosophy, but no written document of him has been recovered so far.
An Upa Purana Known as ‘Kapila Puraṇa’ also goes to his credit. But it is not known whther it is the same Kapila who wrote Sankya Karika. Kapila is prominent in the Bhagavata Purana, preaching bhakti to his mother Devahuti.
Once, the sons (60,001) of King Sagara thought that Kapila had stolen their sacrificial horse and they entered Patala. They disturbed Kapila from his meditation, who turned them to ashes with a glare. The Nagas fled Patala in fear. Sagara sent his adopted son Amshuman (Kashyapa’s grandson) to Patala to recover the horse. Amshuman respectfully approached Kapila and recovered the horse. After many years, Bhagiratha, a descendant of Sagara brought the Ganges into the earth, and into this point where his ancestors were burnt to ashes to cure the curse of Kapila. A pilgrim spot in Haridwar known as Kapilastaan, is believed to be as Kapila's hermitage.