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Various Puranas and Itihasas explicitly mention Vishnu incarnating as Buddha to teach an anti-Vedic doctrine in order to deceive certain Asuras from their righteous path.

Kapila, the founder of the atheistic Samkhya school, is another figure who is mentioned in the Puranas and Itihasas to be an incarnation of Vishnu.

My question is do any Puranas or Itihasas deal with the reason why he, despite being an incarnation of Vishnu, teach an atheistic doctrine? Do any of the Puranas and Itihasas state that his main purpose was to delude people just like Buddha?

Note: Please avoid quoting from the Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purana in your answer.

Edit: I'm aware that certain Acharyas such as Adi Shankara and Baladeva Vidyabhushana believed in two different Kapilas who propagated two different Sankhya philosophies. However, Vijnanabhikshu was one such Acharya who believed that there was only one Kapila who was an incarnation of Vishnu and propagated a Sankhya philosophy which was purely atheistic in order to delude the masses. Perhaps, he has quoted any such Puranic or Itihasic verses to support his theory in his works.

Related: Which Acharyas believe in the two-Kapilas theory and which don't?

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  • The kapila muni, the son of sage Kardam is believed to be different from Kapila sage who propounded nir-ishvar sankhya. Son of Sage kardam is avatar of Vishnu whereas Kapila muni who spoke atheistic sankhya is regarded to be different person. – Vishal prabhu lawande Apr 22 at 16:28
  • They seem to be the same person if we look at the references to Kapila in the Srimad Bhagavatam. @Vishalprabhulawande – Surya Kanta Bose Chowdhury Apr 22 at 16:33
  • youtu.be/_h2safqWxJI as per Adi Shankaracharya, they are different – Vishal prabhu lawande Apr 22 at 16:57
  • Yes, I'm aware that Adi Shankara believed in two Kapilas and so did Baladeva Vidyabhushana. @Vishalprabhulawande – Surya Kanta Bose Chowdhury Apr 22 at 18:15
  • @SuryaKantaBoseChowdhury: Srimad Bhagavatham says Kapila Avatharam is incarnated by Lord Vishnu. Read Srimad Bhagavatham for more details. – venkat Apr 24 at 14:22

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