Vedanta Sutras

Vedanta Sutras

Vedanta Sutras (other names: "Brahma Sutras", "Shariraka Sutras", "Uttaramimansa Sutras") is a fundamental text of Vedanta philosophy, the author of which is traditionally considered to be the ancient Indian thinker Badarayan. The Indian tradition places the appearance of Vedanta Sutras usually in the 3rd-6th centuries BC, while many scientists talk about the time interval between the II century BC and II century AD.

The sutras are a collection of 555 short aphorisms that condense the main ideas of the oldest Upanishads. They are part of the so-called "Triple Canon" (Prasthanatraya).

The sutras are divided into 4 parts, the contents of which are:

1. information and statements about Brahman as the basis of everything that exists;
2. refutation of objections and criticism of potential opponents, traditional for Indian philosophy; 
3. various ways of comprehending the atman and achieving moksha are outlined; 
4. the last section is devoted to theological reflections on the post-mortem experience of the soul.

Badarayana's treatise contains valuable information about various philosophical schools, religious movements and directions of Indian thought such as Sankhya, Vaisheshika, Pancharatra, Buddhism and Jainism. There is a whole commentary tradition dedicated to the Brahma Sutras. One of the early commentaries belongs to Shankara, the founder of the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, another well-known commentator can be considered the reformer Guru Ramanuja, the founder of Sri Sampradaya. Also prominent on the list of commentators are Vallabha (vishuddha-advaita school), Nimbarka (bheda-abheda school) and Madhva (dvaita school).