'Satkaryavada' is the main basis of which philosophy ?

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Correct — C, Sankhya philosophy. Satkaryavada literally splits as sat (existent) + karya (effect): the effect already exists, in an unmanifest form, inside its material cause, so what we call 'production' is only the manifestation of something already present. This is the load-bearing premise of the entire Sankhya system. Sankhya uses it to argue that the whole visible universe must have pre-existed, unmanifest, in a single material cause — Prakriti — which then really transforms (parinama) into the twenty-three further evolutes, from mahat/buddhi down to the five gross elements. Its stock illustrations are exactly this: oil is already in the sesame seed, curd is already in the milk, the pot is already in the clay. Take satkaryavada away and Sankhya's whole evolutionary scheme of Prakriti collapses, which is why textbooks call it the 'main basis' of Sankhya.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Vaisheshika holds the opposite doctrine — asatkaryavada, in its arambhavada (new-beginning) form. On this view an effect is a genuinely new entity that did not exist before: atoms (paramanu) combine and the composite whole that results is different from the parts. Vaisheshika's defining contribution is its atomism and its list of categories (padarthas), not a pre-existent-effect theory.  (b) Purva Mimamsa, founded on Jaimini's sutras, is a school of ritual exegesis. Its defining basis is dharma as laid down by Vedic injunction, the eternal and authorless (apaurusheya) status of the Vedas, and the mechanism by which a sacrifice yields its fruit. A theory of causation is not what the school is built on.  (d) Nyaya, from Gautama's Nyaya Sutra, is the school of logic and epistemology — its core is the means of valid knowledge (pramanas: perception, inference, comparison and verbal testimony) and the rules of debate and inference. On causation it sides with Vaisheshika's asatkaryavada, the direct rival of satkaryavada.

Concept: Indian philosophy splits on a single question: does an effect already exist in its cause? Satkaryavada says yes — the effect is latent in the cause and production merely makes it manifest; asatkaryavada (arambhavada) says no — the effect is a genuinely new beginning. Sankhya is the classic satkaryavada school, and reads it as parinamavada: Prakriti really transforms into the world. Advaita Vedanta also accepts satkaryavada but reads it as vivartavada — the transformation is only apparent, not real. Nyaya and Vaisheshika sit on the other side of the line.

State PCS 2025 Q66 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q66 — History PYQ with Answer