History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.54

v7.c94.54

It would be seen from the brief synopsis of the chapters 211-12, 307 and 308 that the views described in all of them are not the same as those of the official or standard Sāṅkhya, that Pañcaśikha's views as presented in chapters 211-212 seem to be different from those in chap. 308, particularly when chap. 308 emphasizes that jñāna-karma-samuccaya was the view of Pañcaśikha, while the official Sāṅkhya holds that jñāna alone leads to liberation. It should be noted that these chapters nowhere refer to a work of Pañcaśikha but show him to be a wandering ascetic holding certain views The present writer believes that the author of these passages in the Śāntiparva had no work before him and only knew by hearsay and tradition that Pañcaśikha was a great Sāṅkhya teacher. Prof. Keith holds that the Pañcaśikha of the Śāntiparva is not identical with Pañcaśikha, the author of Ṣaṣṭitantra (p. 48 of 'Sāṅkhya System').²²⁴³