Kanada

Kaṇāda, also known as Kaṇabhaksha and Kaṇabhuj, was an ancient Indian natural scientist and philosopher who founded the Vaisheshika school of Indian philosophy, which represents the earliest Indian physics. Estimated to have lived between the 6th and 2nd century BCE, little is known about his life. His name, 'eater of atoms', reflects his atomistic theory presented in the Vaiśeṣika Sūtra. This school explains the universe's creation and existence through logic, realism, and an atomistic approach, proposing that the smallest indivisible entities, 'paramāṇu', aggregate to form complex substances. Kaṇāda's ideas influenced other Hindu schools and are closely associated with the Nyaya school. His system categorizes reality into six properties: substance, quality, action, generality, particularity, and inherence. He suggested that everything is knowable through motion and developed a non-theistic means to moksha by combining atomic theory with the concept of Atman (soul). Kaṇāda's work also encompasses empirical observations and naturalistic explanations, influencing fields beyond philosophy.