Panchashikha, who appears in Shanti Parva (Book of Liberation) of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

(Chapter 218), was a long-lived disciple of Asuri who was a teacher of Samkhya Philosophy. As a follower of

Kapila Kapila ( sa, कपिल), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a sage in Hindu tradition. According to Bhagavata Purana, he is the son of the sage Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of the Svayambhuva Manu. Kardama had nine daughters, who wer ...

, Panchshikha was one of the earliest teachers of philosophy belonging to the

Samkhya ''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic Āstika and nāstika, school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''purusha, puruṣa' ...

School of thought. He wrote a great number of works including 60000 verses concerning the nature of matter (

Prakṛti Prakriti ( sa, प्रकृति ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by its Sāṅkhya school, where it does not refer to matter or nature, bu ...

), the nature of the self, the faculties of perception and action and supra normal powers. ''Shashti Tantra'' is believed to be his work. Uluka, nicknamed

Kanada Kanada may refer to: *Kanada (philosopher), the Hindu sage who founded the philosophy of Vaisheshika *Kanada (family of ragas), a group of ragas in Hindustani music *Kanada (surname) *Kanada Station, train station in Fukuoka, Japan *Kannada, one of ...

, the author of ''

Vaisheshika Sutra Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika ( sa, वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemolo ...

'' and who taught

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, was a disciple of Panchashikha. Dharmadhvaja Janaka, the king of Mithila, one of Panchshikha’s disciples, had asked Panchashikha about the relation between the body and the soul in the earthly life and after death. At several places,

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, in his commentary on the Patañjali Yoga Sutras II.5, II.16, II.17 etc., by way of clarification, has specifically cited the opinions expressed by Panchashikha in respect of the nature of the body and the soul. Kapha is believed to have fostered Panchshikha on her milk and thus emerged the Samkhya Philosophy. In the ''

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Tarpana Viddhi'', the method of offering water, Panchashikha is revered in the process of ''Manushya tarpana'', offering water to Original Men, in the mantra which reads: :औं संकश्च सनन्दश्च तृतीयश्च सनातनः :कपिलश्चासुरिश्चैव वोढुः पञ्चशिखस्तथा :सर्वे ते तृप्तिमायान्तु मद्दत्तेनाम्बुना सदा , , :"Let Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, Kapila, Asuri Bardhu and Panchshikha be all satisfied with the water offered by me."

References

{{Indian Philosophy Vedanta Mahabharata