Tattva
A principle or category whose meaning depends on the system using it.
Introductory source-based synthesis. External references were consulted for the stated scope; specialist peer review is not claimed.
Count only after naming the system
Tattva is used for a principle, reality or category. It does not name a single universal list shared by every Indian philosophical school. A list becomes intelligible through the distinctions it makes and the problem it addresses.
Two uses worth distinguishing
Sāṅkhya explains experience through an enumeration that distinguishes puruṣa and prakṛti and describes the development of the latter. Madhva’s tradition uses the name Tattvavāda for its realist philosophical position. The shared word does not make the two systems interchangeable.
Turn a list into a question
Before memorizing categories, record the text, its commentator and the relation between each category. Which are independent? Which depend on something else? Which change? Which are said to know? Then ask how the scheme supports an account of liberation or knowledge. In future comparisons, numbering and terminology should be tied to an identified edition. This entry is a guide to reading philosophical classifications, not a claim that one list has been historically derived from another.
Questions to carry
- 01What does this enumeration explain?
- 02Which categories depend on others?
Sources & further reading
- 01Ferenc Ruzsa · Sāṅkhya · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophyscholarly secondary
Reference consulted for the introductory account; follow the source for its full context.
Consulted 2026-11-07 - 02Valerie Stoker · Madhva · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophyscholarly secondary
Reference consulted for the introductory account; follow the source for its full context.
Consulted 2026-11-07