Within the Charvaka perspective, the notion of rebirth is not merely doubted but categorically denied. Consciousness is understood as arising from the physical elements of the body, much like an emergent property that appears when certain material conditions are present. When those conditions dissolve at death, consciousness ceases entirely; there is no surviving entity that could continue its journey elsewhere. The idea of an enduring soul or ātman, distinct from the body and capable of transmigrating, is therefore rejected as unfounded.

This rejection rests on both a materialist view of the person and a strict epistemological stance. For Charvaka, only direct perception is accepted as a reliable source of knowledge, and anything that cannot be directly perceived is treated with deep suspicion. Since no one can directly observe a soul departing one body and entering another, the doctrine of reincarnation is regarded as speculative at best and superstitious at worst. Scriptural testimony or the authority of sages is not considered sufficient to establish such claims, because these sources do not meet the standard of immediate, empirical verification.

From this standpoint, teachings about karmic rebirth and post-mortem consequences are seen as human inventions rather than descriptions of an unseen reality. Such doctrines are interpreted as devices that can be used to regulate behavior through fear of future suffering and hope for future reward. In contrast, Charvaka thought orients attention toward this very life, since death is viewed as the complete annihilation of individual existence. Ethical and practical concerns are therefore framed in terms of present well-being and present suffering, without reference to any imagined future birth or cosmic ledger of deeds.