Maharishi Kapila lived in the Indian subcontinent circa 500 B.C.E., but some sources believe he could have lived circa 200 B.C.E. He is believed to be the founder of the samkhya philosophy but there are no known writings by him that deal with samkhya. Very little is known about his life, but some questionable sources mention the following:

He was the son of the sage Kardama and Devhuti. He allegedly preached mankind self - knowledge or the real knowledge. He started his preaching of knowledge with his mother who attained divinity. Her soul left the mortal body and her physical body melted into a river called 'Matri Teertha' which is located at Siddhapur , in Gujarat.

A man can become free from all his illusions and bondage with the help of desireless devotion.It is believed that the ocean had itself given him a place for the maharishi to start his penance in the depth of the ocean and is also said that he still continues his penance there. He is one of the twelve teachers of Srimad Bhagwat .