Abstract

The Charvakas were the sceptic‐materialists of classical India, existing about the same time as the beginnings of early atheistic Buddhism and overlapping with the rise of both Buddhism and Jainism. This chapter examines the primary source literature that focuses on Charvakas in order to glean information about them and to assess the extent of materialist influence. Materialists were of sufficient influence, it seems, for other sects to take heed of them and to offer criticism of their beliefs. The materialists challenged the very basis of established religion and gained the displeasure not just of the orthodox Hindus but also of the heterodox Buddhists and Jains, who accused them of lacking any morality, hence the long‐lasting accusation of hedonism that has been attached to the Charvakas. Another, more well‐known, text that castigates the materialists is the Bhagavad Gita written perhaps around the second century BCE.