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Kapila Muni
Kapila Muni, said to be son of sage Kardama and Devahuti, has been counted as one of the twenty four avatars of Vishnu in Shrimad Bhagavata Purana and mentioned as a great ascetic ( Tapasvi ) and an accomplished person ( Siddha Purusa ) in other Puranas. He is famous as the propounder of the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy. The Sankhya Pravacana Sutra and a large collection of his teachings known as Sasthitantra are the works attributed to him. In distinction from Vedanta philosophy that regards Brahma ( The Absolute Being ) or Atma ( Soul ) as the only reality, his system is a Dualistic--Pluralistic philosophy that accepts the two independent reals as Cetana Purusa ( Conscious Self, the witness - only inactive knower, neither doer nor enjoyer of the consequences of doing ) and Prakrti ( Nature, with Sattva, Rajas and Tamas as its three constitutive qualities, that is ever under going modifications ). The modifications ( Vikara ) of Prakriti, starting from being nearest to farthest from the Purusha, are explained in an order as going from Mahat or Buddhi ( intellect ), Ahankara ( ego-sense ), Manas ( mind ), five sense organs ( Jnanendriya ), five organs of action { Karmendriya ), five subtle elements ( Tanmatra ) and five gross elements ( Bhuta - such as space, air, fire, water and earth ). The Purushas are infinite in number. Apart from Samkhya Sutra, Samkhya-Karika of ishvara Krishna is a famous text of the Samkhya Philosophy.
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