Bādarāyaņa

The Brahma Sūtras, also known as the Vedanta Sūtra, are a Sanskrit text attributed to Bādarāyaṇa, also called Vyāsa. The text synthesizes and harmonizes divergent Upanishadic ideas and practices about the essence of existence, postulating Brahman as the only origin and essence of everything. It criticizes the metaphysical dualism of Samkhya philosophy. The work consists of 555 aphoristic verses in four chapters, dealing with attaining knowledge of Brahman. It declares that the Upanishads are the only acceptable source of truth, describing Brahman as the ultimate reality. The text compares different 'knowledges' (vidyas) and meditations (upasanas) of Brahman, arguing they are synonyms for Brahman. The first chapter rejects Samkhya's view of pradhana as the first principle. The second chapter addresses objections from competing schools like Nyaya, Yoga, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Buddhism, and Jainism. The third chapter compares and combines various Upanishadic knowledges and meditations. The last chapter explains why such knowledge is an important human need. The Brahma Sūtras are considered one of the three most important texts in Vedanta, alongside the Principal Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. It has influenced various schools of Indian philosophies, with different interpretations by sub-schools like Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita Vedanta. Several commentaries exist, with notable ones by Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhvacharya, and Srikantha Sivacharya.