With reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Sankhya school : 1. Sankhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of soul. 2. Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Sankhya is one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Indian philosophy. It proposes a dualistic reality consisting of Purusha (consciousness, soul) and Prakriti (matter, nature). 2. Statement 1 is incorrect. Sankhya school *does* accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of the soul (Purusha). It posits that the soul becomes entangled with Prakriti due to ignorance (avidya) and undergoes repeated births and deaths (samsara) until liberation is attained. 3. Statement 2 is correct. Sankhya holds that liberation (kaivalya) is achieved through discriminative knowledge (viveka) – the realization of the fundamental difference between Purusha and Prakriti. This is self-knowledge, the understanding of the true nature of the self (Purusha) as distinct from matter. Sankhya emphasizes that this knowledge itself is the means to liberation, not reliance on rituals, deities, or any exterior influence or agent. Although classical Sankhya is atheistic or non-theistic, it focuses on self-knowledge as the path.