इत्युक्त्वा स नृपः शोचन्निषसाद महीतले ।तमध्यात्मरतिर्विद्वाञ्शौनको नाम वै द्विजः ।योगे सांख्ये च कुशलो राजानमिदमब्रवीत् ॥

शोकस्थानसहस्राणि भयस्थानशतानि च । दिवसे दिवसे मूढमाविशन्ति न पण्डितम् ॥ Vanaparva ३.२.१५

Translation:

Having spoken thus, the king, anguished and grieving, sank to the forest floor. A learned Brahmin named Shaunaka, steeped in the delight of the self’s inner truth, Skilled in Yoga and Samkhya, approached the monarch and spoke these words:

“Of the reasons to mourn, there are thousands, hundreds of causes for fear— Day after day, they assail the fool, but never the wise.”

He is universally adored today, but his earliest references paint him as a mischievous, even malevolent force. Y. Krishan’s The Origins of Gaṇeśa explores this fascinating evolution, tracing how a once-feared spirit became one of the most beloved gods in the Hindu pantheon.

Herodotus, the Greek historian, embarked on a mission to record the deeds of human civilizations from his vantage point in the 5th century BCE. His magnum opus, Histories, not only provides a narrative of the Greco-Persian Wars but also delves deeply into the cultural practices, mythologies, and daily lives of the people his world knew. Among these fascinating, sometimes grim, cultural practices is the burial rituals that offers a lens into the values and beliefs of ancient societies.

Amongst its many themes, the glaring presence of Samkhya, perhaps one of the oldest branches of Bharatiya Jnana Parampara, stands out as a profound metaphysical framework for understanding life, self, and the universe.