Philosophy in Indian tradition as a purely secular and rational exercise can be located in the Lokāyata/Cārvāka school of Indian philosophy. Due to the lack of substantial literary sources, scholars did not try to explore Lokāyata philosophically. The present work is the first attempt to explore the philosophical energies inherent in the scattered Cārvāka literature through critical and analytical discussions firmly grounded in textual evidences.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

Contributed articles.

Here are the chief riches of more than 3,000 years of Indian philosophical thought-the ancient Vedas, the Upanisads, the epics, the treatises of the heterodox and orthodox systems, the commentaries of the scholastic period, and the contemporary writings. Introductions and interpretive commentaries are provided.