On the Samkhyakarika and its Commentarial Tradition: the Suvarnasaptati, Samkhyavrtti, and Gaudapadabhasyayy

Five of the extant commentaries on the Samkhyakarika bear strong resemblances to each other. These are the Suvarnasaptati, Samkhyavrtti, Gaudapadabhasya, Samkhyasaptativrtti, and Matharavrtti. Therefore, they are generally considered to share a common origin. These commentaries on the Samkhyakarika, however, also significantly diverge from each other. This article explores the peculiar connections among the Suvarnasaptati, Samkhyavrtti, and Gaudapadabhasya. By focusing on passages that feature metaphors, this article discusses how and why the authors of the Suvarnasaptati, Samkhyavrtti, and Gaudapadabhasya may have appropriated portions of their texts or to the contrary dissociated from each other.