Theory of Liberation: A Comparison between the Advaita Vedānta and the Sāṁkhya
NBPA Journal for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences February 18, 2026 Dr. Arjun Chandra Das
Advaita Vedānta holds that liberation (mokṣa) is the realization of blissful Brahman and the complete cessation of suffering, supported by Upaniṣadic declarations that the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman and transcends grief. Sāṁkhya attributes bondage to the failure to discriminate between Puruṣa (consciousness) and Prakṛti (matter), with liberation achieved through discriminative knowledge. Both traditions agree that liberation comes through knowledge, not action, and recognize two forms of liberation: jīvanmukti and videhamukti. This paper critically examines internal inconsistencies within Sāṁkhya theory in light of these doctrines.