Samkhya or
Sankhya (,
IAST: ) is one of the six
āstika (orthodox) schools of
Indian philosophy. It is most related to the
Yoga school of
Hinduism, and it was influential on other schools of Indian philosophy. Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose
epistemology accepts three of six
pramanas (proofs) as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include
pratyakṣa (perception),
anumāṇa (inference) and
śabda (
āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources). Sometimes described as one of the
rationalist school of
Indian philosophy, this ancient school's reliance on reason was neither exclusive nor strong.