The six orthodox (astika) schools of Indian philosophy that accept the authority of the Vedas, paired into three complementary groups.
The Shad-Darshana ("six viewpoints") are the six classical schools of Hindu philosophy that accept the epistemic authority of the Vedas, distinguishing them from nastika (heterodox) traditions like Buddhism, Jainism and the materialist Charvaka school. Each Darshana developed its own sutras, commentaries and methods of reasoning, and traditionally they are studied in three complementary pairs.
Nyaya & Vaisheshika together form the school of logic and physics — Nyaya (founder: Gautama) systematised formal logic and epistemology (valid means of knowledge), while Vaisheshika (founder: Kanada) developed an atomic theory of matter. Sankhya & Yoga form the school of metaphysics and practice — Sankhya (founder: Kapila) proposes a dualism between Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (matter), while Yoga (systematised by Patanjali) provides the practical eight-limbed discipline for realising that dualism. Mimamsa & Vedanta form the school of Vedic interpretation — Purva Mimamsa (founder: Jaimini) focuses on ritual duty (dharma) as laid out in the earlier Vedic texts, while Uttara Mimamsa, better known as Vedanta (founder: Badarayana; later elaborated by Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja and Madhva), interprets the philosophical Upanishads and the nature of Brahman.
APPSC tests the founder-school pairings and each school's core idea in one line — Nyaya=logic, Vaisheshika=atomism, Sankhya=dualism, Yoga=practice, Mimamsa=ritual duty, Vedanta=Upanishadic philosophy. Vedanta's later commentators (Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Madhva) connect directly to the Bhakti movement's philosophical roots.
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