The philosophy of the Epics is to be chiefly found in the Mahābhārata which, with its large mass of legendary, mythological and didactic material, gives greater scope to it, and even directly inculcates certain philosophical and religious doctrines. Some of the myths and legends go back to Vedic times, but some of the parables and moral narratives are of later growth.

The Rāmāyaṇa, a national epic, like the Mahābhārata,has exerted profound influence on the thoughts and feelings and conduct of the Indian people ever since it saw the daylight. It has set up ideals of manhood and womanhood which have been cherished and imitated by people of all classes and denominations and have helped to ennoble them and succour them in their tribulations.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Upaniṣads have inspired not only the orthodox systems of Indian philosophy but also some heterodox Schools like those of Buddhism. The Upaniṣads are not systematic treatises on philosophy; they are not the works of a single author. The teachers whose intuitions are recorded in the Upaniṣads are more mystic seers than metaphysical investigators.

Nothing definite can be said as to whether Hindu thought is the result of the addition of the Āryan or the Vedic elements to an earlier Dravidian civilization or the addition of Dravidian elements to an already existing Āryan or Vedic civilization.This much is certain, that what is called Hindu thought is not a simple growth from Āryan or Vedic civilization.

Sāṁkhya Darśana is a traditional philosophical school of India that assume the existence of two eternal principles – the Nature or Material principle (Prakṛti) and the Spiritual or Soul (Puruṣa).Buddha Shakyamuni himself was practicing under the guidance of Sānkhya teachers, before he reached enlightenment.