THE CARVAKA MATERIALISTS

[GOPAL IYER]

A friend and I have recently become interested in the Carvakas and
their rise, philosophy and suppression (circa 5th century B.C.).

>From what we understand, the
Carvakas emerged from the similar nastika (atheistic) strains that
contributed to the rise of Buddha and Mahavira and that they
shared the idea of the dualism of purusha (spirit) and prakriti
(substance) similar to the Samkhya school.

While we would like to know more about the Carvakas, our efforts
to locate sources through our own effort have resulted in shoonya
("zilch", sl.).

Would some knowledeable readers provide us with sources and
references for understanding more about the Carvakas, their
philosophy etc.?

Thanks,


Gopal Iyer
Assistant Professor
Baruch College
The City University of New York
17 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017